Reading with the Gods - Cover by Burdge
by Saffy1506
Summary: What would happen if Percy was the one who turned on the Olympians? What if Luke was the one who stayed behind to fight Kronos's army and save the world? Annabeth, Rachel, Clarisee, Travis, and Conner are sent to read the Lost Hero, but these Gods aren't their parents. They're the Gods from the original Percy Jackson world, with some random characters from the first series.
1. Introduction PART 1

**This is going to be another one of those Reading with the Gods thing. But with a slight difference: Percy isn't the hero. Luke is. Percy was the one that turned to the side of Kronos, and Luke stayed and saved the world (not like he did before) with Annabeth. Which, yes, means that in the end they are the ones that get together and Percy is the one that dies to save everyone. Now, don't get too angry with me because I killed Percabeth, because they might just show up. Idk I'll have to think about it. **

**I'm going to be starting with the Lost Hero. It's a random choice, but I don't have the first series. So sorry your going to have to deal with this. I do, however, have the entire HOH, so I can do this one. **

**This chapter will only be the introduction. So you'll get a little insight on the****_ other _****Percy Jackson universe. I won't be posting the first chapter until I get it done and until I get a couple reviews telling me too. That way I know that people actually ****_want_**** me to write this.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of these characters. Like ****_any _****of them, so don't go thinking that I do.**

* * *

"Luke!" Annabeth whispered as she stepped into the Hermes cabin.

She had gotten a letter on her pillow in the Athena cabin, telling her to meet Luke here. She came immediately, excitement running through her body. Something that she was used to. Ever since Luke and her and started dating she feels this way every time that they bring up being alone together. She knew that they could get in trouble if they get caught being alone in his cabin, but she just didn't care. Didn't they deserve a little alone time? Since Luke _did_ save the world from Percy and Kronos?

The Hermes cabin was dark, all the Hermes campers were at their archery class. Annabeth wandered around in the dark for a while. Calling for Luke and wondering if she had missed him somehow. She just had to trip over five pairs of shoes, and slip on three candy wrappers before she finally found her boyfriend asleep on his bunk.

She groaned and cursed him for not keeping his cabin cleaner.

She didn't want to wake him. So she just curled up beside him. Resting her head on his chest, she felt his arms wrap around her and he kissed the top of her head, he was warm. Annabeth started to feel her eyelids get heavy, and the constant beating of his heart just made it easier for her to fall asleep.

* * *

Annabeth woke up by Travis shaking her shoulder and Conner yelling in her ear.

"Annabeth! What are you doing?!" He asked, Annabeth almost thought that her ear had started to bleed.

She yelled at Conner to shut up, then she sat up. She asked them how long she was asleep, but they both said that they had just gotten there. The cabin was now full of Hermes kids. Most of them didn't even seem to realize that Annabeth was there. They were too busy eating their hidden stash of candy or planning pranks.

Then she realized something: "where's Luke?"

"I don't know," Travis said, "he wasn't here when we got here."

Annabeth stood up, and tried to remember if he had tried to wake her up and tell her that he had to leave. But she couldn't think of waking up before now.

She thanked Travis and Conner, then left the cabin. It was dark when she walked outside, she must have slept through the entire afternoon. She walked to her cabin. Hoping to meet Luke there, where he would hug and kiss her goodnight before he would disappear into his own cabin. When he didn't meet her, she felt a tug in her stomach.

"He probably just has something to do," she mumbled to herself. Then she entered her cabin to go to bed.

* * *

That night she dreamed of the throne room on Olympus. The Gods were sitting in their chairs. They didn't seem to be arguing, they were talking about someone. The someone that Annabeth hated most in the world.

"Perseus saved the world," Aphrodite said as she filed her nails.

Poseidon smiled proudly from his throne, and Annabeth felt another hit of hatred towards his son. Not only did he try to kill both her and Luke multiple times, he betrayed them. They have been friends since they both were seven. Two alone runaways on the street, they were lucky enough to find Thalia and Grover before the monster got them. She thought that then, when they got to camp, everything was going to be fine for forever, then Percy went on his quest and came back with a hatred towards the Gods. Annabeth didn't think that his anger was real until he betrayed Luke by setting a Pit Scorpion after him and almost killing him. Since then he's been on Kronos army. He even let Kronos's spirit into his body. Letting him take control of him and all his powerful water the end though, he killed himself to save Olympus.

She know that she should forgive him for saving them in the end. But her stubborn mind wouldn't let that hatred go so quickly.

"Still," Zeus continued, "he had the nerve to deny my gift!"

"He did it for love," Aphrodite cooed, not even looking up from her fingers.

"What?" Athena asked.

"Don't tell us that you didn't see it!" Aphrodite answered, "Perseus wouldn't have denied the gift unless that daughter of yours wasn't in the picture! I knew I had a good love story for those two, and now everything is finally starting to come into place." She sighed, and blew on her index finger.

Annabeth couldn't believe what she was hearing! The gods were praising Percy! They even offered him a gift? He was dead before they got their gifts, there was no time for him to get anything. Why wasn't Luke being discussed in all this? He was the _real_ savior! Luke had the ideas that brought down the army of traitor campers, he was the one who has fought this for five years now.

"Luke also saved the world don't forget that," Hermes muttered. Though he seemed that he dreaded saying it. His eyes were down casted and he leaned on his staff like it was only thing keeping him upright. "He died for the cause."

Luke...died?

_No, he couldn't have_. She though, _we were together all afternoon! He didn't die in the war._

"I don't even know why were still dreading on this," Demeter groaned, "Zeus just needs to get over that Percy is too good for his stupid gifts and Hermes will just have to face the fact that his son is dead."

Apollo nodded, "now what do we do? I'm bored."

* * *

Annabeth left for breakfast early the next day. The words of the Gods still repeating in her head. She couldn't understand what they had meant by Luke being dead, or Percy denying Zeus's gift. It was just enough to stump the daughter of Athena.

She looked for Luke at the Hermes table.

"I thought he was with you," Travis said when he poured an entire bottle of syrup over his pancakes.

"What do you mean?"

"He wasn't in his bunk this morning. We thought he left early to be with you."

"No, I haven't seen him since I left your cabin yesterday."

"You didn't even see him before you went to bed?"

"No."

She left Travis then. She ate her breakfast fast that day. Then, she ran down to the training arena. Praying that she would see Luke practicing, just like she has so many times before.

He wasn't there. The area was empty of people. She could still hear the voices and laughter from people at breakfast, but Annabeth wasn't laughing. Between the confusion of the dream that she had last night, now she had to worry about where her boyfriend had disappeared to.

After she searched the beach, all the cabins, the forge, the arts and crafts center, and the big house, there she told Chiron that Luke had disappeared.

"What do you mean he's missing?"

She explained to him that he was no where, at least not anywhere in camp. He was gone.

"I'll send a search party into the woods," He said, then he looked back at Annabeth. "Don't worry, we'll find him."

* * *

"Annabeth," said Rachel, "you need to go to bed."

"But what if he's out there somewhere? I need to find him," Annabeth stood up from the bench, swinging her backpack over her shoulder. "He'd do the same for me."

"Still, he wouldn't want you to pass out from exhaustion, just because of him. He'd want you to rest."

Annabeth knew that she was right. But still she didn't want to go to sleep knowing that Luke was out there, maybe in trouble, just waiting for her to come and save him.

"You can go tomorrow, that way you'll be rested up and you can get to him faster. If you go now you'll just have to rest more." Rachel grabbed Annabeth's arm and started to lead them back to the Athena cabin. Annabeth didn't want to go, but she didn't have the energy to argue.

They never got to the Athena cabin.

A bright flash flashed around them. Suddenly they weren't standing on a grassy hill in Camp Half-Blood, now they were standing in the huge throne room of the Gods.

* * *

**I tried to make them have a little bit more of a back story. Obviously it starts off where Luke disappears to go to the Roman camp, just like Percy did. I tried to introduce the fact that there is two realities. Again, I am starting with the Lost Hero, and the reality with Luke will read about the reality with Percy.**

**If this is confusing just ask your questions in the reviews and I'll try to answer them in the next chapter. WHICH I will only post if I get some reviews asking for the rest of this.**


	2. Introduction PART 2

**So here's the next chapter! I hope this one is good! I really loved all the reviews that I got for this, and it seemed that not too many people are confused about the plot and stuff, so I'm just going to continue and maybe you'll understand better (if you are confused) by reading a little more.**

**You wont believe how long it took me to write this.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own none of these characters, again, if you think that I do you are highly wrong.**

* * *

"Zeus, I still don't understand why your having this fit. It's like your five again!" Hera said, as she glared at her husband.

Zeus didn't seem to notice her glare. He was too busy mumbling stuff as he used his own glare at his brother.

Poseidon ignored Zeus's glares and tied hooks to fishing line, while humming a merry melody.

The rest of the Gods were either to busy playing with their iPads, or watching the whole Hera, Zeus, Poseidon thing with awe that a fight hasn't broken out yet. Poseidon was in too good of a mood.

"Poseidon," Athena started, glancing up from her device. She had long ago gotten annoyed of Poseidon's merry humming, and was about ready to throw her book at him to shut him up. "Poseidon."

He didn't look up.

"Poseidon."

Not a twitch.

"Poseidon!"

He brought his green eyes away from his fishing line but didn't stop his humming.

"Will you please stop that annoying humming."

"Why? Do you not enjoy music?" He questioned, "I thought you liked Apollo."

Upon hearing his name, Apollo look up from his iPod and lifted his headphones. "What?"

Poseidon smirked, "I thought you and Athena were good friends!" He laughed, "apparently I was wrong."

"Athena! C'mon girl!" Apollo threw up his hands, "I sang you your birthday song! What more do you want me to do?"

Athena shot a dagger glare back at Poseidon, "Apollo, I do like you-"

"Ha! Really! I don't believe you." Apollo pouted.

"Apollo." Athena sighed and fought back a headache.

"Your gonna have to prove it to him," Poseidon pointed out.

"Poseidon-" Athena growled.

"Yes!" Apollo stood from his seat. "That's is an amazing idea!"

Apollo then started to pace in front of his throne. Musical instruments started to materialize in front of his outstretched hands. A lyre, guitar, mini keyboard, and finally he picked on a flute. He picked it out of the air, and started to play a few loud tweets.

Artemis looked away from her conversation with Hephaestus.

"Are you trying to summon a flock of pigeons?" As scowled.

"Okay," Apollo brought his lips from the flute. "So Athena, how are we going to get you to prove to me that you are my bestie?"

"Who says 'bestie' anymore?" Aphrodite mumbled from her nails.

"We could have you go to china to get me a new trumpet? Of course your going to have to also go to Japan to get me my mouthpiece..."

Poseidon laughed from him chair, and continued to hum his song.

"That might be the only way-" Apollo stopped, then he flicked his hand and the flute disappeared in a burst of yellow dust. "Something's coming."

Then in a shower of dust a golden letter formed in the air in front of him. He picked up the letter, and read it.

_Dear Gods:_

_We are sending you a rather strange thing from the future. Were sending you some... demigods. These demigods are from a different reality than you. You may think that you know them, but you really don't. So ask them to say their names and status. AND by any means, you are not allowed to kill, threaten, or hurt any of these demigods. If you do the world will end._

_Love, The Fates_

_P.S. we will also be sending some more demigods, and there will also be a couple humans._

"What's that supposed to mean?" Zeus asked.

Then a flash of yellow light blinded them. When it fainted out there were six people standing in front of the Gods.

"Annabeth?" Athena asked, "I thought you were at camp."

Artemis shook her head, "these aren't your children. Remember what the message said."

"So who are they then?" Hermes asked.

"Introduce your selves." Poseidon said.

The Annabeth, but not really Annabeth, stepped up.

"Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena. Achritect of Olympus." She said.

"See! She just said she was my daughter! How is she not my daughter?" Athena asked.

"Let them continue Athena," Zeus said.

"Rachel Dare, oracle, and mortal."

Apollo grinned at his oracle.

"Clarisee (I hope I'm spelling her name right, also I don't know her last name. Sorry), daughter of Ares."

Ares nodded to his daughter.

"Travis Stoll,"

"And Conner Stoll,"

"Sons of Hermes."

Hermes managed a weak smile, but it quickly turned into another sad frown.

"Will Solace, son of Apollo."

Apollo waved at him.

"So that's it then?" Aphrodite asked, "we just sit here with these demigods?"

Then another flash of light and four books dropped out of the sky. Apollo picked them up, another note was on the top.

_Another thing,_

_you are to read these books with the children. Then you will really understand why they aren't your kids._

_Love, The Fates_

"What do they mean that were not your kids?" Annabeth asked, "you are the Gods of Olympus right?"

"Yes," Athena answer, "but I'm not sure. You look like my Annabeth..."

"Were just going to have to go by what the letter tell us," Poseidon said. "But, um, Annabeth? Where's Percy?"

Everyone of the demigods faces turned mad.

"I don't know why you would ask me that, Lord Poseidon." She said, anger dripping from her voice.

Poseidon looked at her with his mouth hanging open. Then he looked at Athena for help, she just shrugged, and Aphrodite dropped her vial of nail polish.

"What do you mean 'I don't know why you'd ask me that'? He's your boyfriend! I make sure because I created you!" Aphrodite cried.

Athena scowled in her direction, and Poseidon just continued looking at Annabeth like she had just grew an extra arm.

"He's dead!" Annabeth said, "why would I date a dead guy who tried to kill me? Multiple times, mind you."

"He's _dead_?" Poseidon said, then his trident started to glow and the air became thicker.

"Let's just calm down," Hera started, "let's just read and then we'll figure out what this all is about. Alright?"

Every God nodded, but the demigods, and human, just stood there, in shock. Annabeth still had the look of hatred on her face, and she aimed it towards the sea god.

"Alright," Zeus started, "who wants to read first?"

"I will," Athena muttered.


	3. Jason 1

** anna rutter : The answer to your question is that the Gods time (which is the original Percy Jackson time) is right after the Last Olympian. Which is the reason that Hermes is so depressed (because Luke had just died) and the reason that Zeus is still so hung up on the fact that Percy didn't want to become an Olympian. And the other reality people's time is right when the Lost Hero starts. **

**Sorry if that is unclear to some, I tried to make it clear, but it's difficult. So I'll work hard and try to keep things as.. un confusing as possible. **

**Also, there might be a couple mistakes in here. It's late and I wanted to post this stupid chapter, so I didn't review it the way that I normally do, so I'm sorry if it's not like my normal work.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters, live I've said before.**

* * *

**"The Lost Hero?"**

Athena sighed, "this title is childish, who wrote this a five year old?"

"Just hurry up and read the stupid thing," Ares grumbled, "we hear your complaining all the time."

"Whatever."

"_Even before he got electrocuted, Jason was having a rotten day."_

"This is going to be fun," Clarisee mumbled. "Hey, can we at least get a couple of seats?"

Zeus looked down, the demigods were still there, standing in a little huddle. "Uh, fine."

Zeus flicked his fingers, and three couches materialized.

"There, now stop complaining. Your almost worst than Athena."

"Shut up, Father."

_"He woke in the backseat of a school bus, not sure where he was, holding hands with a girl he didn't know."_

"That almost doesn't sound too bad," Travis mumbled.

_"That wasn't necessarily the rotten part. The girl was cute, but he couldn't figure out who she was or what he was doing there. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, trying to think."_

"No memory," Demeter frowned, "that's strange."

"Maybe he ate too much cereal the night before," Hades muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"That's what I thought."

_"A few dozen kids sprawled in seats in front of him, listening to iPods, talking, or sleeping. They all looked around his age... fifteen? Sixteen? Okay, that was scary. He didn't know his own age."_

"Sometimes that happens to Travis," Connor mumbled, "but only after Annabeth hits him over the head hard enough for him to lose brain cells."

He got hit over the head for that comment.

_"The bus rumbled along a bumpy road. Out the windows, desert rolled by under a bright blue sky. Jason was pretty sure he didn't live in the desert. He tried to think back... the last he remembered..._

_The girl squeezed his hand. "Jason, you okay?"_

_She wore faded jeans, hiking boots, and a fleece snowboarding jacket. Her chocolate brown hair was cut choppy and uneven, with thin strands braided down the sides. She wore no makeup-"_

"No makeup!" Aphrodite cried, "how could you be in public without makeup!?"

_"like she was trying not to draw attention to herself, but it didn't work. She was seriously pretty. Her eyes seemed to change color like a kaleidoscope - brown, blue, and green."_

_Like Aphrodite, _Annabeth thought, taking a look up to the goddess. Her eyes were brown right now, and her hair was long and caramel colored. But Annabeth knew that she would look different by the next page.

_"Jason let go of her hand. "Um, I don't-"_

_In front of the bus, a teacher shouted, "All right, cupcakes, listen up!"_

"'Cupcakes'?" Rachel questioned, "why would someone even think about calling someone 'cupcake'?"

_"The guy was obviously a coach. His baseball cap was pulled low over his hair, so you could just see his beady eyes. He had a wispy goatee and a sour face, like he'd eaten something moldy."_

"Sounds like a Satyr," Dionysus mumbled from over his wine magazine.

Apollo let out a little yelp and jumped in his chair.

"Dude!" He laughed, "you were so quiet I forgot you were here!"

Dionysus just grumbled into the pages.

_"His buff arms and chest pushed against a bright orange polo shirt. His nylon work out pants and Nikes were spotless white. A whistle hung from his neck, and a megaphone was clipped to his belt. He would've looked pretty scary if he hadn't been five feet zero."_

"Sounds like Hedge!" Annabeth realized, she hadn't seen the satyr in months, he been off looking for new campers ever since the Titan War ended.

_"When he stood up in the aisle, one of the students called, "Stand up, Coach Hedge!"_

"Called it." Then she thought for a second, "wait. If this is supposed to be about a different reality of demigods, then why is Coach there? He's from our universe too."

Athena shrugged, "I don't know," then she thought for a second. "Maybe there are just a few things that are different, everything else is the same."

"Yeah." Annabeth thought again, "because you reconized me as _your_ Annabeth, so there is one of me in both universes."

"Oh my gods," Clarisee muttered, "your hurting my brain! Bad enough that we have to _read!_ But now we have to listen to these two brainy people calculate the whole time!"

"Let's just keep reading," Ares said, agreeing with his daughter.

_"I heard that!" The coach scanned the bus for the offender. Then his eyes fixed on Jason, and his scowl deepened._

_A jolt went down Jason's spine. He was sure the coach knew he didn't belong there. He was going to call Jason out, demand to know what he was doing on the bus - and Jason wouldn't have a clue what to say._

_But Coach Hedge looked away and cleared his throat. "We'll arrive in five minutes! Stay with your partner. Don't lose your worksheet. And if any of you precious little cupcakes causes any trouble on this trip, I will personally send you back to campus the hard way."_

_He picked up a baseball bat and made like he was hitting a homer."_

"Why would someone just keep a baseball bat handy?" Will asked.

"These must be _really_ bad kids," Annabeth mumbled.

_"Jason looked at the girl next to him. "Can he talk to us that way?"_

_She shrugged. "Always does. This is the Wilderness School. 'Where kids are the animals'."_

_She said it like it was a joke they'd shared before._

_"This is some kind of mistake," Jason said. "I'm not supposed to be here." _

_The boy in front of him turned and laughed. "Yeah, right, Jason. We've all been framed! I didn't run away six times. Piper didn't steal a BMW."_

"A-" Conner started.

"Don't say it!" Rachel screamed, "don't you dare say it!"

"A bl-"

"Conner!" Rachel yelled.

Conner opened his mouth to continue, but Clarisee hit him before he got the chance.

"Ow," he pouted while rubbing his arm.

"Well shut up then."

_"The girl blushed. "I didn't steal that car, Leo!"_

_"Oh I forgot, Piper. What was your story? You 'talked' the dealer into lending it to you?" He raised his eyebrows at Jason like, C**an you believe her?**_

_Leo looked like a Latino Santa's elf, with curly black hair, pointy ears, a cheerful, babyish face, and a mischievous smile that told you right away this guy should not be trusted around matches or sharp objects. His long, nimble fingers wouldn't stop moving - drumming on the seat, sweeping his hair behind his ears, fiddling with the buttons of his army fatigue jacket. Either the kid was naturally hyper or he was hopped up on enough sugar and caffeine to give a heart attack to a water buffalo."_

"He's probably ADHD," Annabeth commented.

_"Anyway," Leo said, "I hope you've got your worksheet, 'cause I used mine for spit wads days ago. Why are you looking at me like that? Somebody draw on my face again?"_

_"I don't know you," Jason said._

_Leo gave him a crocodile grin. "Sure. I'm not your best friends. I'm his evil clone."_

_"Leo Valdez!" Coach Hedge yelled from the front. "Problem back there?"_

_Leo winked at Jason. "Watch this." He turned to the front. "Sorry, Coach! I was having trouble hearing you. Could you use your megaphone, please?"_

_Coach Hedge grunted like he was pleased to have an excuse. He unclipped the megaphone from his belt and continued giving directions, but his voice came out like Darth Vadar's. The kids cracked up. The coach tried again, but this time the megaphone blared: "The cow goes moo!"_

"Kid's good with machines," Hermes said, "just like someone else we know." He directed a look at Hephaestus.

_"The kids howled, and the coach slammed down the megaphone. "Valdez!"_

_Piper stifled a laugh. "My god, Leo. How did you do that?"_

"Gods," Athena corrected.

_"Leo slipped a tiny Phillips head screwdriver from his sleeve. "I'm a special boy."_

Apollo coughed, "son of Hephaestus."

_"Guy's, seriously," Jason pleaded. "What am I doing here? Where are we going?"_

_Piper knit her eyebrows. "Jason, are you joking?"_

_"No! I have no idea- "_

_"Aw, yeah, he's joking," Leo said. "He's trying to get me back for that shaving cream on the Jell-O thing, aren't you"_

"Shaving cream on Jell-O!" Travis smirked and looked at Conner. "We have a new idea."

_Jason stared at him blankly._

_"No, I think he's serious." Piper tried to take his hand again, but he pulled it away._

"Rejection!" Apollo and Hermes laughed.

"That's not funny," Aphrodite glared at the two.

_"I'm sorry," he said. "I don't - I can't -"_

_"That's it!" Coach Hedge yelled from the front. "The back row has just volunteered to clean up after lunch!"_

_The rest of the kids cheered._

_"There's a shocker," Leo muttered._

_But Piper kept her eyes on Jason, like she couldn't decide whether to be hurt or worried. "Did you hit your head or something? You really don't know who we are?"_

_Jason shrugged helplessly. "It's worse than that. I don't know who I am."_

"Duh dun da!" Travis shouted, "cliffhanger!"

"But it's not the end of the chapter," Athena said.

"Oh."

_"The bus dropped them in front of a big red stucco complex like a museum, just sitting in the middle of nowhere. Maybe that's what it was: the National Museum of Nowhere, Jason thought. A cold wind blew across the desert. Jason hadn't paid much attention to what he was wearing, but it wasn't nearly warm enough: jeans and sneakers, a purple T-shirt, and a thin black windbreaker._

_"So, a crash course for the amnesic," Leo said, in a helpful tone that made Jason think this was not going to be helpful. "We go to the 'Wilderness School'" - Leo made air quotes with his fingers. "Which means we're 'bad kids' - _

"Haven't we heard this before?" Annabeth asked.

_Your family, or the court, or whoever, decided you were too much trouble, so they shipped you off to this lively prison - sorry, 'boarding school - in Armpit, Nevada, where you learn valuable nature skills like running ten miles a day through the cacti and weaving daisies into hats! And for a special treat we go on 'educational' field trips with Coach Hedge, who keeps order with a baseball bat. Is it all coming back to you now?"_

"That sounds like hell," Clarisee slumped back in her seat.

"What are 'cacti'?" Conner asked.

"Are you serious?" Annabeth asked, "how old are you?"

"Hey, sorry I'm not a 'all smart' daughter of Athena!"

"Shut up, it doesn't take a mastermind to know that cacti is the multiple of one cactus."

"Thank you for answering my question," He retorted.

"Anytime, idiot."

_"No." Jason glanced apprehensively at the other kids: maybe twenty guys, half that many girls. None of them looked like hardened criminals, but he wondered what they'd all done to get sentenced to a school for delinquents, and he wondered why he belonged with them._

_Leo rolled his eyes. "You're really gonna play this out, huh? Okay, so the three of us started here together this semester. We're totally tight. You do everything I say and giver me your dessert and do my chores -"_

_"Leo!" Piper snapped._

_"Fine. Ignore that last part. But we **are** friends, the last few weeks -"_

_"Leo, stop it!" Piper's face turned red. Jason could feel his face burning too. He thought he'd remember if he'd been going out with a girl like Piper._

"Piper's mine," Aphrodite said, "I call her and none of you get to argue."

"Trust me," said Poseidon, "we wont."

Aphrodite glared, "just because your son is the savor doesn't mean that you-"

"Please don't argue about who has the better kids." Hera said, "Perseus isn't even supposed to exist."

Poseidon opened his mouth like he was going to argue, but Hera put her hand up and he thought better.

Annabeth bit her lip, _this is defiantly not our reality._

_"He's got amnesia or something," Piper said. "We've got to tell somebody."_

_Leo scoffed. "Who, Coach Hedge? He'd try to fix Jason by whacking him upside the head."_

_The coach was at the front of the group, barking orders and blowing his whistle to keep the kids in line; but every so often he'd glance back at Jason and scowl._

"He knows," Rachel said.

_"Leo, Jason needs help," Piper insisted. "He's got a concussion or -"_

_"Yo, Piper." One of the other guys dropped back to join them as the group was heading into the museum. The new guy wedged himself between Jason and Piper and knocked Leo down. "Don't talk to these bottom-feeders. You're my partner, remember?"_

_The new guy had dark hair cut Superman style,_

"That's a style?" Travis asked, "I want that!"

Aphrodite snapped her fingers and Travis's curly hair flashed into a cut that could only be described as a 'Superman style'.

"No," Conner announced, "no you look bald."

Travis pouted, but Aphrodite snapped her fingers again and the regular Travis style was back.

_a deep tan, and teeth so white they should've come with a warning label: **DO NOT STARE DIRECTLY AT TEETH. PERMANENT BLINDNESS MAY OCCUR.**_

"Ha!" Ares laughed, "I love this guy!"

_He wore a Dallas Cowboys jersey, Western jeans and boots, and he smiled like he was God's gift to juvenile delinquent girls everywhere. Jason hated him instantly._

_"Go away, Dylan," Piper grumbled. "I didn't ask to work with you."_

_"Ah, that's no way to be. This is your lucky day!" Dylan hooked his arm through hers and dragged her through the museum entrance. Piper sot one last look over her shoulder like, 911!_

"Dylan can't be my son too, can he?" Aphrodite wondered, "if he's making a move on Piper, then-"

"Your kids are inbreeding," Apollo said.

Aphrodite paled and waved for Athena to continue.

_Leo got up and brushed himself off. "I hate that guy." He offered Jason his arm, like they should go skipping inside together. "'I'm Dylan. I'm so cool, I want to date myself, but I can't figure out how! You want to date me instead? You're so lucky!'"_

_"Leo," Jason said, "your weird."_

_"Yeah, you tell me that a lot." Leo grinned. "But if you don't remember me that means I can reuse all my old jokes. Come on!"_

_Jason figured that if this was his best friend, his life must be pretty messed up; but he followed Leo into the museum._

"So is Leo yours?" Poseidon asked Hephaestus.

"Yeah," Hephaestus muttered, remembering his son.

"Wait," Annabeth said, "is this book in your reality or in our reality?"

"Ours," Athena said, as she flipped further into the book.

"Alright," Annabeth said, she was hoping that this book might have something to tell about Luke's disappearance, but with it being in the other reality, she was pretty sure that it wouldn't.

_They walked through the building, stopping here and there for Coach Hedge to lecture them with his megaphone, which alternately made him sound like a Sith Lord or blared out fandom comments like: "The pig says oink!"_

_Leo kept pulling out nuts, bolts, and pipe cleaners from the pockets of his army jacket and putting them together, like he had to keep his hands busy at all times._

_Jason was too distracted to pay much attention to the exhibits, but they were about the Grand Canyon and the Haualapai tribe, which owned the museum. _

_Some girls kept looking over at Piper and Dylan and snickering. Jason figured these girls were the popular clique._

"My kind of group," Aphrodite said, "maybe this whole school is full of my kids."

_They wore matching jeans and pink tops and enough makeup for a Halloween party._

"Well, that's negative," Aphrodite pouted.

_One of them said, "Hey, Piper, does your tribe run this place? Do you get in free if you do a rain dance?"_

"Never mind," Aphrodite said, "I disown them."

_The other girls laughed. Even Piper's so-called partner Dylan suppressed a smile. Piper's snowboarding jacket sleeves had her hands, but Jason got the feeling she was clenching her fists._

_"My dad's Cherokee," she said. "Not Hualapai."_

"Oh, _that's _who she is!"

"Did you forget your own daughter?" Poseidon asked.

"No," Aphrodite answered, "I just forget who her father was," she sighed.

_"'Course, you'd need a few brain cells to know the difference, Isabel."_

_Isabel widened her eyes in mock surprise, so that she looked like an owl with a makeup addiction. "Oh, sorry! Was your **mom** in this tribe? Oh, that's right. You never knew your mom."_

_Piper charged her, but before a fight could start, Coach Hedge barked, "Enough back there! Set a good example or I'll break out my baseball bat!"_

_The group shuffled on to the next exhibit, but the girls kept calling out little comments to Piper._

_"Good to be back on the rez?" one asked in a sweet voice. _

_"Dad's probably too drunk to work," another said with fake sympathy. "That's why she turned Klepto."_

"I want to vaporize their beautifully made up makeup faces," Aphrodite grumbled, and Apollo scooted his throne away from her.

_"Piper ignored them, but Jason was ready to punch them himself. He might not remember Piper, or even who he was, but he knew he hated mean kids._

"Welcome to plant Earth, dude." Conner whispered, and nervously glanced up to Clarisee.

_Leo caught his arm. "Be cool. Piper doesn't like us fighting her battles. Besides, if those girls found out the truth about her dad, they'd all be bowing down to her and screaming, 'We're not worthy!"_

_"Why? What about her dad?" Leo laughed in disbelief. "You're kidding? You really don't remember that your girlfriend's dad -"_

_"Look, I wish I did, but I don't even remember **her**, much less her dad."_

_Leo whistled. "Whatever. We **have** to talk when we get back to the dorm."_

_They reached the far end of the exhibit hall, where some big glass doors led out to a terrace._

_"All right, cupcakes," Coach Hedge announced. "You are about to see the Grand Canyon. Try not to break it._

"How could you break the Grand Canyon?" Rachel asked.

Poseidon laughed, "you'd be surprised."

Rachel thought about the fact that it was a river that had created the Grand Canyon in the first place. She glanced up at Poseidon and wondered how one person could control that much power, that can destroy _so_ much, and still be nice and gentle. She wondered why Percy could have been like his father.

_"The skywalk can hold the weight of seventy jumbo jets, so you featherweights should be safe out there. If possible, try to avoid pushing each other over the edge, as that would cause me extra paperwork."_

_The coach opened the doors, and they all stepped outside. The Grand Canyon spread before them, live and in person. Extending over the edge was a horseshoe-shaped walkway made of glass, so you could see right through it._

"That sounds terrifying," Will said.

"I think it sounds beautiful," Rachel muttered, "I'd give anything to paint that."

_"Man," Leo said, "That's pretty wicked."_

_Jason had to agree. Despite his amnesia and his feeling that he didn't belong there, he couldn't help being impressed._

_The canyon was bigger and wider than you could appreciate from a picture. They were up so high that birds circled below their feet. Five hundred feet down, a river snaked along the canyon floor. Banks of storm clouds had moved overhead while they'd been inside, casting shadows like angry faces across the cliffs. As far as Jason could see in any direction, red and grey ravines cut through the desert like some crazy god had taken a knife to it._

"More like I just let a river flow through there for thousands of years," muttered Poseidon, "nothing big."

_Jason got a piercing pain behind his eyes. **Crazy gods...**_

_Where had he come up with that idea? He felt like he'd gotten close to something important - something he should know about. He also got the unmistakable feeling he was in danger._

_"You all right?" Leo asked.. "You're not going to throw up over the side are you? 'Cause I should've brought my camera." _

_Jason grabbed the railing. He was shivering and sweaty, but it had nothing to do with the heights. He blinked, and the pain behind his eyes subsided._

_"I'm fine," he managed. "Just a headache._

_Thunder rumbled overhead. A cold wind almost knocked him sideways. _

_"This can't be safe." Leo squinted at the clouds. "Storm's right over us, but it's clear all the way around. Weird, huh?"_

"Yeah," Artemis said, glancing over at Zeus, "weird."

_Jason looked up and saw Leo was right. A dark circle of clouds had parked itself over the skywalk, but the rest of the sky in every direction was perfectly clear. Jason had a bad feeling about that._

"Yeah," Annabeth said sarcasticly, "most people would."

_"All right cupcakes!" Coach Hedge yelled. He frowned at the storm like it bothered him too. "We may have to cut this short, so get to work! Remember, complete sentences!" _

_The storm rumbled, and Jason's head began to hurt again. Not knowing why he did it, he reaching into his jeans pocket and brought out a coin - a circle of gold the size of a half-dollar, but thicker and more uneven. Stamped on one side was a picture of a battle-ax. On the other was some guy's face wreathed in laurels. The inscription said something like **IVLIVS**_

"That's in Latin, not Greek." Annabeth observed.

_"Dang is that gold?" Leo asked. "You been holding out on me!"_

_Jason put the coin away, wondering how he'd come to have it, and why he had the feeling he was going to need it soon. _

_"It's nothing," he said. "Just a coin."_

_Leo shrugged. Maybe his mind had to keep moving as much as his hands. "Come on," he said. "Dare you to spit over the edge."_

Athena sighed, "So childish." She shook her head.

_They didn't try very hard on the worksheet. For one thing, Jason was too distracted by the storm and his own mixed-up feelings. For another thing, he didn't have any idea how to "**name three sedimentary strata you observe" **or **"describe two example of erosion."**_

"Water, via the river," mumbled Poseidon.

"And the winds," Zeus added.

_Leo was no help. He was too busy building a heliocopter out of pipe cleaners. _

_Check it out." He launched the copter. Jason figured it would plummet, but the pipe-cleaner blades actually spun. The little copter made it halfway across the canyon before it lost momentum and spiraled into the void._

_"How'd you do that?" Jason asked._

"He's my son," Hephaestus answered.

_Leo shrugged. "Would've been cooler if I had some rubber bands."_

_"Seriously," Jason said, "are we friends?"_

_"Last I checked."_

_"You sure? What was the first day we met? What did we talk about?"_

_"It was..." Leo frowned. "I don't recall exactly. I'm ADHD, man. You can't expect me to remember details."_

"Ha!" Said Apollo, "nice excuse."

_"But I don't remember you **at all**. I don't remember anyone here. What if -"_

"It might be a trick of the Mist." Athena thought allowed.

_"You're right and everyone else is wrong?" Leo asked. "You think you just appeared here this morning, and we've all got fake memories of you?"_

"That's kinda what the trick of the Mist would do," Athena said.

_A little voice in Jason's head said, **That's exactly what I think.**_

_But it sounded crazy. Everybody here took him for granted. Everyone acted like he was a normal part of the class - except for Coach Hedge. _

_"Take the worksheet." Jason handed Leo the paper. "I'll be right back."_

_Before Leo could protest, Jason headed across the skywalk. _

_Their school group had the place to themselves. Maybe it was too early in the day for tourists, or maybe the weird weather had scared them off. The Wilderness School kids had spread out in pairs across the skywalk. Most were joking around or talking. some of the guys were dropping pennies over the side. About fifty feet away, Piper was trying to fill out her worksheet, but her stupid partner Dylan was hitting on her, pitting his hand on her shoulder and giving her that blinding white smile. She kept pushing him away, and when she saw Jason she gave him a look like, **Throttle this guy for me.**_

"It's hard to be related to me," Aphrodite said, "you always get people that wont get off you. All because of our natural beauty."

The guys held back laughter.

_Jason motioned for her to hand on. He walked up to Coach Hedge, who was leaning on his baseball bat, studying the storm clouds. _

_"Did you do this?" the coach asked him._

_Jason took a step back. "Do what?" It sounded like the coach had just asked if he'd made the thunderstorm. _

_Coach Hedge glared at him, his beady little eyes glinting under the brim of his cap. "Don't play games with me, kid. What are you doing here, and why are you messing up my job?"_

_"You mean... you **don't** know me?" Jason said. "I'm not one of your students?"_

_Hedge snorted, "Never seen you before today."_

"I knew it," Annabeth said, "you can't pull Mist over a satyr."

_Jason was so relieved he almost wanted to cry. At least he wasn't going insane. He **was **in the wrong place. "Look, sir-"_

"At least he's polite," Demeter said, "there's nothing worst than a unpolite boy." She glared at Hades, who ignored her.

_"I don't know how I got here. I just woke up on the school bus. All I know is I'm not supposed to be here."_

_"Got that right." Hedge's gruff voice dropped to a murmur, like he was sharing a secret. "You got a powerful way with the Mist, kid, if you can make all these people think they know you; but you can't fool me. I've been smelling monster for days now. I knew we had an infiltrator, but you don't smell like a monster. You smell like a half-blood. So - who are you, and where'd you come from?"_

"That's what we've been trying to find out the entire chapter," mumbled Travis.

_Most of what the coach said didn't make sense, but Jason decided to answer honestly. "I don't know who I am. I don't have any memories. You've got to help me."_

_Coach Hedge studied his face like he was trying to read Jason's thoughts. _

_"Great," Hedge muttered. "You're being truthful."_

"You rather him to lie?" Zeus asked.

_"Of course I am! And what was all that about monsters and half-bloods? Are those code words or something?"_

"Yes," Travis muttered sarcastic, "our whole lives are just a little game with code words and cardboard monsters."

"I wish," Annabeth whispered, remembering the worry over Luke and if he was okay. She prayed that he wasn't hanging upside down in a Cyclopes den over a fire.

_Hedge Narrowed his eyes. Part of Jason wondered if the guy was just nuts. But the other part knew better. _

_"Look, kid," Hedge said, "I don't know who you are. I just know **what** you are, and it means trouble. Now I got to protect three of you rather than two. Are you the special package? Is that it?"_

_"What are you talking about?"_

_Hedge looked at the storm. The clouds were getting thicker and darker, hovering right over the skywalk. _

_"This morning," Hedge said, "I got a message from camp. They said an extraction team is on the way."_

"That sounds painful." Clarisee, said."

_"They're coming to pick up a special package, but they wouldn't give me details. I thought to myself, Fine. The two I'm watching are pretty powerful, older than most. I know they're being stalked. I can smell a monster in the group. I figure that's why the camp is suddenly frantic to pick them up. But then **you** pop up out of nowhere. So, are you the special package?"_

"That is a predicament," Athena agreed.

"Athena," Poseidon said, "your talking to a book."

Athena glared back in return, remembering all the stuff he had caused before this all started.

_The pain behind Jason's eyes got worse than ever. **Half-bloods. Camp. Monsters. **He still didn't know what Hedge was talking about, but the words game him a massive brain freeze - like his mind was trying to success information that should've been there but wasn't._

_He stumbled, and Hedge caught him. For a short guy, the coach had hands like steel._

"Ohh, Coach!" Conner said, "your hands are _so_ strong!"

"Conner," Annabeth said, "shut up."

_"Whoa, there, cupcake. You say you got no memories, huh? Fine. I'll just have to watch you, too, until the team gets here. We'll let the director figure things out."_

_"What director?" Jason said. "What camp?"_

_"Just sit tight. Reinforcements should be here soon. Hopefully nothing happens before-"_

_Lightning crackled overhead._

Cue the looks at Zeus.

"What this is in the future! I don't know what's going on." Zeus defended.

_The wind picked up with a vengeance. Worksheets flew into the Grand Cranyon, and the entire bridge shuddered. Kids screamed, stumbling and grabbing the rails. _

_"I had to say something," Hedge grumbled. He bellowed into his megaphone. "Everyone inside! The cow goes moo! Off the sidewalk!"_

"That," Travis said over his and Conner's laughter, "is awesome!"

_"I thought you said this thing is stable!" Jason shouted over the wind._

_"Under normal circumstances," Hedge agreed, "which these aren't. Come on!"_

"That's the end of the chapter." Athena said, "who wants to read next?"

"I will," Apollo said, "I want to know more about this Leo kid. He's awesome!"

**End of Chapter One**


	4. Jason 2

**I don't have anything to say.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of this.**

* * *

**Chapter Two**

"I want to see what happens to that awesome Leo kids," Apollo said.

"You've already said it three times," Athena grumbled.

"Well I just want my point to get across."

"You did, now start reading, so you'll shut up."

_The storm churned like a miniature hurricane. Funnel clouds snaked toward the skywalk like the tendrils of a monster jellyfish._

_Kids screamed and ran for the building. The wind snatched away their notebooks, jackets, hates, and backpacks. Jason skidded across the slick floor._

_Leo lost his balance and almost toppled over the railing, but Jason grabbed his jacket and pulled him back._

_"Thanks, man!" Leo yelled._

_"Go, go, go!" said Coach Hedge. _

_Piper and Dylan were holding the doors open, herding the other kids inside. Piper's snowboarding jacket was flipping wildly, her dark hair all in her face. Jason thought she must've been freezing, but she looked clam and confident - telling the others it would be okay, encouraging them to keep moving._

_Jason, Leo, and Coach Hedge ran toward them, but it was like running through quicksand. The wind seemed to fight them, pushing them back._

_Dylan and Piper pushed one more kid inside, then lost their grip on the doors. They slammed shut, closing off the skywalk._

_Piper tugged at the handles. Inside, the kids pounded on the glass, but the doors seemed to be stuck._

_"Dylan, help!" Piper shouted._

"He's the monster," mumbled Annabeth.

_Dylan just stood there with an idiotic grin, his Cowboys jersey rippling in the wind, like he was suddenly enjoying the storm._

_"Sorry, Piper," he said. "I'm done helping."_

"Told yeah."

_He flicked his wrist, and Piper flew backward, slamming into the doors and sliding into the skywalk deck. _

_"Piper!" Jason tried to charge forward, but the wind was against him, and Coach Hedge pushed him back._

_"Coach," Jason said, "let me go!"_

_"Jason, Leo, stay behind me," the coach ordered. "This is my fight. I should've known that was our monster."_

_"What?" Leo demanded. A rogue worksheet slapped him in the face,_

"I hate it when that happens," grumbled Conner.

"That's happens to you often?" Clarisse (I fond out how to spell her name) asked.

"Don't ask," Travis answered as he rubbed his brother's back.

"You guys have more problems than I thought." Rachel rolled her eyes at the Stolls.

_but he swatted it away. "What monster?"_

_The coach's cap blew off, and sticking up above his curly hair were two bumps - like the knots cartoon character get when they're bonked on the head. Coach Hedge lifted his baseball bat - but it wasn't a regular bat anymore. Somehow it had changed into a crudely shaped tree-branch club, with twigs and leaves still attached._

_Dylan gave him that psycho happy smile. "Oh, come on, **Coach.** Let the boy attack me! After all, you're getting too old for this."_

"That's not very nice," Hades muttered.

Everyone looked at him in surprise.

"What?" He asked, "it's not, want me to lie."

_"Isn't that why they **retired **you to this stupid school? I've been on your team the entire season, and you didn't even know. You're losing your nose, grandpa."_

_The coach made an angry sound like an animal bleating. "That's it cupcake. You're going down."_

_"You think you can protect three half-bloods at once, old man?" Dylan laughed. "Good luck."_

"What's up with him and 'old man'?"

_Dylan pointed at Leo, and a funnel cloud materialized around him. Leo flew off the skywalk like he'd been tossed. Somehow he managed to twist in midair, and slammed sideways into the canyon wall. He skidded, clawing furiously for any handhold. Finally he grabbed a thin ledge about fifty feet below the skywalk and hung there by his fingertips._

_"Help!" he yelled up at them. "Rope, please? Bungee cord? Something?"_

"A bungee cord wouldn't work," Athena said. "It would just make him bounce, but they wouldn't let him get back up."

_Coach Hedge cursed and tossed Jason his club. "I don't know who you are, kid, but I hope you're good. Keep that **thing** busy" - he stabbed a thumb at Dylan - "while I get Leo."_

_"Get him how?" Jason demanded. "You going to fly?"_

"Not fly. Climb." Athena muttered.

"He _is_ a satyr," Dionysus pointed out.

_"Not fly. Climb."_

"You think like a satyr," Poseidon mocked.

"Shut up," Athena answered.

_Hedge kicked off his shoes, and Jason almost had a coronary._

"Coronary?" Travis asked.

"Just shut up so we can read," Athena answered, still giving glares at Poseidon.

_The coach didn't have any feet. He had hooves - goat's hooves. Which meant those things on his head, Jason realized, weren't bumps. They were horns._

_"You're a faun," Jason said._

"Satyr!" Dionysus snapped.

"Faun is the Roman version," Athena said.

_"**Satyr**!" Hedge snapped. "Fauns are Roman. But we'll talk about that later."_

_Hedge leaped over the railing. He sailed toward the canyon wall and hit hooves first. He bounded down the cliff with impossible agility, finding footholds no bigger than postage stamps, dodging whirlwinds that tried to attack him as he picked his way toward Leo._

"Cool!" Travis and Conner said, "do you think Grover could do that?"

"Not for you guys."

They both started pouting.

_"Isn't that cute!" Dylan turned toward Jason. "Now it's your turn, boy."_

_Jason threw the club. It seemed useless with the winds so strong, but the club flew right at Dylan, even curving when he tried to dodge, and smacked him on the head so hard he feel to his knees. _

_Piper wasn't as dazed as she appeared. Her fingers closed around the club when it rolled next to her, but before she could use it, Dylan rose. Blood - **golden **blood - trickled from his forehead. _

_"Nice try, boy." He glared at Jason. "But you'll have to do better."_

"He could always hit you in the head with a sword," Rachel said, "that would be a little better."

_The skywalk shuddered. Hairline fractures appeared in the glass. Inside the museum, kids stopped banging on the doors. They back away, watching in terror._

"I wonder what they see," Clarisse thought.

Annabeth nodded in agreement.

_Dylan's body dissolved into smoke, as if his molecules were coming unglued. He had the same face, the same brilliant white smile, but his whole form was suddenly composed of swirling black vapor, his eyes like electrical sparks in a living storm cloud. He sprouted black smoky wings and rose above the skywalk. If angels could be evil, Jason decided, they would look exactly like this._

_"You're a ventus," Jason said,_

"What's up with him and Latin?" Said Annabeth.

_though he had no idea how he knew that word. "A storm spirit."_

_Dylan's laugh sounded like a tornado tearing off a roof. "I'm glad I waited, demigod. Leo and Piper I've known about for weeks. Could've killed them at any time. But my mistress said a third was coming - someone special. She'll reward me greatly for your death!"_

"Why what makes him so special?" Zeus asked, not noticing that Hera had suddenly turned pale and fiddled with her fingers.

_Two more funnel clouds touched down on either side of Dylan and turned into venti - ghostly young men with smoky wings and eyes that flickered with lightning._

"They sound beautiful," Aphrodite sighed.

_Piper stayed down, pretending to be dazed, her hand still gripping the club. Her face was pale, but she gave Jason a determined look, and he understood the message: **Keep their attention. I'll brain them from behind.**_

"'Brain them'?" Apollo said, looking at the book, "who says that?"

_Cute, smart, **and** violent. Jason wished he remembered having her as a girlfriend._

"Oh!" Aphrodite squirmed in her chair, "I can't see it starting!"

_He clenched his fists and got ready to charge, but he never got a chance._

_Dylan raised his hand, arcs of electricity running between his fingers, and blasted Jason in the chest. _

_Bang!_

_Jason found himself flat on his back. His mouth tasted like burning aluminum foil._

"How would he know what that tasted like?" Conner asked, "does it taste good?"

"Why don't you try it then?" Said Clarisse.

"We should!" The Strolls high fived.

"You're idiots."

_He lifted his head and saw that his clothes were smoking. The lightning blot had gone straight through his body and blasted off his left shoe. His toes were black with soot._

"That should have enough power to kill twenty men!" Zeus shouted, "how did he survive?"

Hera looked at the ground.

_The storm spirits were laughing. The winds raged. Piper was screaming defiantly, but it all sounded tinny and far away.. _

_Out of the corner of his eye, Jason saw Coach Hedge climbing the cliff with Leo on his back. Piper was on her feet, desperately swinging the club to fend off the two extra storm spirits, but they were just toying with her. The club went right through their bodies like they weren't there. And Dylan, a dark and winged tornado with eyes, loomed over Jason._

_"Stop," Jason croaked. He rose unsteadily to his feet, and he wasn't sure who was more surprised: him, or the storm spirits._

"How?" Poseidon asked, glancing over at Zeus who was just as confused. They shrugged at each other.

_"How are you alive?" Dylan's form flickered. "That was enough lightning to kill twenty men!"_

_"My turn," Jason said._

_He reached in his pocket and pulled out the gold coin. He let his instincts take over, flipping the coin in the air like he'd done it a thousand times. He caught it in his palm, and suddenly he was holding a sword - a wickedly sharp double edged weapons. The ridged grip fit his fingers perfectly, and the whole thing was gold - hilt, handle, and blade._

"Cool!" Apollo and Hermes said, "I want one of those!"

"Boys are so immature," Artemis said.

_Dylan snarled and backed up. He looked at his two comrades and yelled, "Well? Kill him!"_

_The other storm spirits didn't look happy with that order, but they flew at Jason, their fingers crackling with electricity. _

_Jason swung at the first spirit. His blade passed through it, and the creature's smoky form disintegrated. The second spirit let loose a blot of lightning, but Jason's blade absorbed the charge. Jason stepped in - one quick thrust, and the second storm spirit dissolved into gold powder. _

_Dylan wailed in outrage. He looked down as if expecting his comrades to re-form, but their gold dust remains dispersed in the wind. "Impossible! Who **are** you, half-blood?"_

"Yes," Athena muttered, "that's kinda what we are trying to figure out."

_Piper was so stunned she dropped her club. "Jason, how...?"_

_Then Coach Hedge leaped back onto the skywalk and dumped Leo like a sack of flour._

_"Spirits, fear me!" Hedge bellowed, flexing his short arms. Then he looked around and realized there was only Dylan._

"Are you sure Hedge isn't insane?" Hephaestus asked the demigods.

"I don't know," Annabeth shrugged. "I wouldn't be surprised."

_"Curse it, boy!" he snapped at Jason. "Didn't you leave some for me? I like a challenge!"_

_Leo got to his feet, breathing hard. He looked completely humiliated, his hands bleeding form clawing at the rocks. _

Hephaestus winced.

_"Yo, Coach Supergoat, whatever you are - I just fell down the freaking Grand Canyon! Stop asking for challenges!"_

Apollo laughed, "I love this guy!"

_Dylan hissed at them, but Jason could see fear in his eyes. "You have no idea how many enemies you've awakened, half-bloods. My mistress will destroy **all** demigods. This war you **cannot** win."_

"Who's this 'mistress'?" Athena questioned.

_Above them, the storm exploded into a full-force gale. Cracks expanded in the skywalk. Sheets of rain poured down, and Jason had to crouch to keep his balance._

_A hole opened in the clouds - a swirling vortex of black and sliver._

_"The mistress calls me back!" Dylan shouted with glee. "And you, demigod, will come with me!"_

_He lunged at Jason, but Piper tackled the monster from behind. Even though he was made of smoke, Piper somehow managed to connect. Both of them went sprawling. Leo, Jason, and the coach surged forward to help, but the spirit screamed with rage. He let loose a torrent that knocked them all backward. Jason and Coach Hedge landed on their butts. Jason's sword skidded across the glass. Leo hit the back of his head and curled on his side, dazed and groaning. Piper got the worst of it. She was thrown off Dylan's back and hit the railing, tumbling over the side until she was hanging by one hand over the abyss._

Aphrodite yelped and wrapped her arms around herself, "no," she almost whispered .

_Jason started toward her, but Dylan screamed, "I'll settle for this one!"_

_He grabbed Leo's arm and began to rise, towing a half conscious Leo below him. The storm spun faster, pulling them upward like a vacuum cleaner._

"He better not hurt him," Hephaestus muttered, he was so angry that heat rolled off of him like he was the sun.

No offence to Apollo.

_"Help!" Piper yelled. "Somebody!"_

_Then she slipped, screaming as she fell._

"No!" Aphrodite gasped, holding her head in her arms.

"I hate it when she cries," Athena muttered, trying not to look at Aphrodite.

_"Jason, go!" Hedge yelled. "Save her!"_

"How?" Zeus questioned.

_The coach launched himself at the spirit with some serious goat fu - lashing out with his hooves, knocking Leo free from the spirits grasp. Leo dropped safely to the floor, but Dylan grappled the coach's arms instead. Hedge tried to head-butt him, then kicked him and called him a cupcake. They rose into the air, gaining speed._

_Coach Hedge shouted down once more, "Save her! I got this!" Then the satyr and the storm spirit spiraled into the clouds and disappeared. _

**_Save__ her? _**_Jason thought. **She's gone!**_

"He wont do it," Zeus muttered, "will he?"

Aphrodite cried louder.

_But again his instincts won. He ran to the railing, thinking, **I'm a lunatic, **and jumped over the side._

"Oh great," Poseidon grumbled, "he's going to die too."

_Jason wasn't scared of heights. He was scared of being smashed against the canyon floor five hundred feet below. He figured he hadn't accomplished anything except for dying along with Piper, but he tucked in his arms and plummeted headfirst. The sides of the canyon raced past like a film on fast-forward. His face felt like it was peeling off._

_In a heartbeat, he caught up with Piper, who was flailing wildly. He tackled her waist and closed his eyes, waiting for death. _

"Maybe he's not so much of a lunatic," Will grumbled.

_Piper screamed._

Aphrodite winced.

_The wind whistled in Jason's ears. He wondered what dying would feel like. He was thinking, probably not so good. He wished somehow they could never hit bottom. _

_Suddenly the wind died. _

"What?" Zeus asked, Hera stared at the ceiling.

_Piper's scream turned into a strangled gasp. Jason thought they must be dead, but he hadn't felt any impact._

_"J-J-Jason," Piper managed._

_He opened his eyes. They weren't falling._

"What were they doing? Flying?" Zeus asked again.

_They were floating in midair, a hundred feet above the river._

"How?" Hades wondered, looking over at Zeus who was just as puzzled as his brothers.

"He can't be," Poseidon said. "Can he?"

"I-I don't remember," Zeus said, then his form flickered, then he was sitting there in a golden toga, his lightning bolt in his hand and his eyes were stormy grey not sky blue.

"Jupiter," Athena said.

Zeus's form flickered again, then he was regular Greek Zeus. Sitting there, but not looking very puzzled anymore.

"So the boy's Roman?" Demeter asked Athena.

"Yes," she answered, "the son of Jupiter."

Zeus flickered back to Jupiter again, then back to Zeus.

_He hugged Piper tight,_

"Aww," Aphrodite cooed, no longer crying.

_and she repositioned herself so she was hugging him too. They were nose to nose. Her heart beat so hard, Jason could feel it through her clothes._

"I'm going to be sick," Clarisse gagged.

Annabeth was looking at the floor with a distant look on her face.

_Her breath smelled like cinnamon. She said, "How did you -"_

_"I didn't," he said. "I think I would know if I could fly..." _

_But then he thought: **I don't even know who I am.**_

_He imagined them going up. Piper yelped as they shot a few feet higher._

"I don't even think Thalia can do that," Zeus observed.

_They weren't exactly floating, Jason decided. He could feel pressure under his feet like they were balancing at the top of a geyser._

_"The air is supporting us," he said._

_"Well, tell it to support us more! Get us out of here!"_

"First smart thing I've heard from this book," Ares grumbled, while cleaning his M-16.

_Jason looked down._

"It would be easier to sink to the bottom," Zeus said.

_The easiest thing would be to sink gently to the canyon floor._

Poseidon laughed, "like father like son."

"Shut up, don't get me started on you."

_Then he looked up. The rain had stopped. The storm clouds didn't seem as bad, but they were still rumbling and flashing. There was no guarantee the spirits were gone for good. He had no idea what had happened to Coach Hedge. And he'd left Leo up there, barely conscious. _

_"We have to help them," Piper said, as if reading his thoughts. "Can you -"_

_"Let's see." Jason thought **Up, **and instantly they shot skyward. _

_The fact he was riding the winds might've been cool under different circumstances,_

"It's cool on _all_ circumstances!" Conner exclaimed.

_but he was too much in shock. As soon as they landed on the skywalk, they ran to Leo._

_Piper turned Leo over, and he groaned. His army coat was soaked from the rain. His curly hair glittered gold from rolling around in monster dust. But at least he wasn't dead._

"Thankfully," Hephaestus sounded relived.

_"Stupid...ugly...goat," he muttered._

The boys started laughing.

"That's awesome!" Apollo was almost to tears.

"He should be a comedian!" Travis said, holding his stomach like it hurt.

"That's not funny," Aphrodite muttered, rolling her eyes at Hermes.

_"Where did he go?" Piper asked._

_Leo groaned even louder. "What happened? The tornado guy, the gold sword...I hit my head. That's it, right? I'm hallucinating?"_

_Jason had forgotten about the sword. He walked over to where it was lying and picked it up. The blade was well balanced. On a hunch he flipped it. Midspin, the sword shrank back into a coin and landed in his palm._

_"Yep," Leo said. "Definitely hallucinating."_

_Piper shivered in her rain-soaked clothes. "Jason, those things -"_

_"Venti," he said. "Storm spirits."_

_"Okay. You acted like...like you'd seen them before. Who **are** you?"_

_He shook his head. "That's what I've been trying to tell you. I don't know."_

"How many times does he have to say it?" Annabeth asked with half a heart.

_The storm dissipated. The other kids from the Wilderness School were staring out the glass doors in horror. Security guard were working on the locks now, but they didn't seem to be having any luck._

_"Coach Hedge said he had to protect three people," Jason remembered. "I think he meant us."_

_"And that thing Dylan turned into..." Piper shuddered. "God, I can't believe it was **hitting **on me. He called us...what, **demigods?**"_

"Neither can I," Aphrodite said, "gross."

"Gross what," Athena asked, "Gross, that their demigods? Or gross, that he was hitting on her?"

"That he was hitting on her, duh!"

_Leo lay on his back, staring at the sky. He didn't seem anxious to get up. "Don't know what demi means," he said. "But I'm not feeling too godly. You guys feeling godly?"_

"Yes," All the gods answered. The demigods shrugged, "sometimes," a few muttered.

_There was a brittle sound like dry twigs snapping, and the cracks in the skywalk began to widen._

_"We need to get off this thing," Jason said. "Maybe if we -"_

_"Ohhh-key," Leo interrupted. "Look up there and tell me if those are flying horses."_

"Flying horses?" Rachel asked.

_At first Jason thought Leo **had** hit his head too hard. Then he saw a dark shape descending from the east - too slow for a plane, too large for a bird. As it got closer he could see a pair of winged animals - grey, four-legged, exactly like horses - except each one had a twenty-foot wingspan. And they were puling a brightly painted box with two wheels: a chariot._

"Reinforcements," Annabeth said.

_"Reinforcements," he said. "Hedge told me an extraction squad was coming for us." _

_"Extraction squad?" Leo struggled to his feet. "That sounds painful."_

_"And where are they extracting us to?" Piper asked. _

_Jason watched as the chariot landed on the far end of the skywalk. They flying horses tucked in their wings and cantered nervously across the glass, as if they sensed it was near breaking. Two teenagers stood in the chariot - a tall blond girl maybe a little older than Jason, and a bulky dude with a shaved head and a face like a pile of bricks. They bother wore jeans and orange T-shirts, with shields tossed over their backs._

"At least they were from Camp Half-Blood," said Annabeth.

_The girl leaped off before the chariot had even finished moving. She pulled a knife and ran toward Jason's group while the bulky dude was reining in the horses._

_"Where is he?" the girl demanded. Her gray eyes were fierce and a little startling. _

"Where's who?" Rachel asked.

Athena glanced nervously at her daughter, hoping that the girl in the book wasn't her.

_"Where's who?" Jason asked._

_She frowned like his answer was unacceptable. Then she turned to Leo and Piper. "What about Gleeson Where is your protector, Gleeson Hedge?"_

_The coach's first name was Gleeson? Jason might've laughed if the morning hadn't been quite so weird and scary. Gleeson Hedge: football coach, goat man, protector of demigods. Sure. Why not?"_

_Leo clearned his throat. "He got taken by some... tornado things."_

_"Venti," Jason said. "Storm spirits."_

_THe blond girl arched and eyebrow. "You mean anemu thuellau? That's the Greek term. Who are you, and what happened?"_

_Jason did his best to explain, though it was hard to meet those intense gray eyes. About halfway through the story, the other guy from the chariot came over. He stood there glaring at them, his arms crossed. He had a tattoo of a rainbow on his biceps, which seemed a little unusual._

"Sounds like Butch," Annabeth observed, remember her and Luke's friend from camp half-blood. The memory of Luke made her heart ache with worry.

_When Jason had finished his story, the blond girl didn't look satisfied. "No, no, no! She **told **me he would he here. She told me if I came here, I'd find the answer."_

Hera turned pale, and shut her eyes tight.

_"Annabeth,"_

"Annabeth!" Everyone in the room was surprised. They didn't think that one of their friends would be in the book.

"I didn't think," Annabeth said, shaking her head. "It must he the _other _Annabeth from the _other_ universe. It's not me."

_the bald guy grunted. "Check it out." He pointed at Jason's feet._

_Jason hadn't thought much about it, but he was still missing his left shoe, which had been blown off by the lightning. His care foot felt okay, but it looked like a lump of charcoal._

_"The guy with one shoe," said the bald dude. "He's the answer."_

_"No, Butch," the girl insisted. "He can't be. I was tricked." _

_She glared at the sky as though it had done something wrong. "What do you want from me?" she screamed. "What have you done with him?"_

Hera flintched at the words, Athena saw.

_The skywalk shuddered, and the horses whinnied urgently._

_"Annabeth," said the bald dude, Butch, "we gotta leave. Let's get these three to camp and figure it out there. Those storm spirits might come back."_

_She fumed for a moment. "Fine." she fixed Jason with a resentful look. "We'll settle this later."_

_She turned on her heel and marched toward the chariot._

_Piper shook her head. "What's **her** problem? What's going on?"_

"Yeah, Annabeth," Will asked, "what _is_ your problem?"

Annabeth shrugged, "I don't know, maybe I'm trying to find Luke."

The demigods nodded, but the Olympians looked at her in confusion.

_"Seriously," Leo agreed._

_"We have to get you out of here," Butch said. "I'll explain on the way."_

_"I'm not going anywhere with **her.**" Jason gestured toward the blonde. "She looks like she wants to kill me."_

"That's not very nice," Rachel said, "sure she is going a little crazy, but-"

Annabeth glared at her, but she was starting to doubt that she would like this Jason in person.

_Butch hesitated. "Annabeth's okay. You gotta cut her some slack. She had a vision telling her to come here, to find a guy with one shoe. That was supposed to be the answer to her problem."_

_"What problem?" Piper asked._

_"She's been looking for one of our campers,"_

"Luke," Annabeth said, her voice cracking a little.

_"who's been missing three days," Butch said. "She's going out of her mind with worry. She hoped he'd be here."_

_"Who?" Jason asked._

"Luke," Annabeth muttered again, this time it was a whisper. She wanted to reassure herself, because if her logic is right (which it normally was), then since there hasn't been much of a difference in realities this far into the book yet, then there is one coming soon.

_"Her boyfriend," Butch said._

"Luke Castllian (sorry this is another name I don't know, so if you know post in the review so I will have it right.)." Everyone said, being so sure in their choice.

_"A guy named Percy Jackson."_

**_END OF JASON 2_**


	5. Piper 3

**I am ****_so _****happy that you guys are giving me feedback. Like, it's amazing. I love you guys and just keep reviewing and I'll try to make you all happy.**

**And thank you for suggesting that I should make the story text bold. I was thinking that myself, and your comments just made me make up my mind. I will make the text bold, so it will be easier to read. So I thank you all, I will even go back and edit those chapters to make them better.**

**Basketball has started, so I have practice every night until 5:30, then I might have homework, so I don't get to write much. Still I'm trying to make myself write a little every night. So I'm trying to update every two or three days. Sorry if it takes any longer than that. **

**Thank you!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any person, words, or... anything. So don't go saying that I do.**

**P.S. It's late so I didn't read it over very well, sorry I wanted to update today. So sorry if there are some mistakes.**

* * *

"WHAT!" Everyone of the demigods screamed. Annabeth suddenly looked red in the face, like she was either _really_ pissed, or she was embarrassed.

The Olympians were sitting there, shocked to hear what had just came out of their children's' mouth, excuse Rachel for the 'children' part.

Aphrodite looked like she was going to faint. She quietly whispered, "I worked so _hard," _to herself.

Athena wasn't sure if she was happy. She knew she should be, but it was such a big surprise that her mind couldn't process emotion. She just stood there staring at her daughter, she heard the name 'Luke' mumbled a lot during the last chapter. Could it be...?

Poseidon was sitting there with his mouth hanging open. N_ow_ he knew why Annabeth reacted to his question earlier. He wondered where Percy and Annabeth were now, the _real_ Percy and Annabeth.

Every other God or Goddess were either smiling, because they hate Perseus. Or they were sitting there, trying to understand the situation.

"What about Luke?" Rachel asked Annabeth. Who shook her head.

"He's still missing," she said, "we don't know where he is."

"But," Travis rubbed his temples, "you are the Annabeth that we've grown up with right? You are dating Luke."

"Yes, Travis," Annabeth answered. "As far as I know I am the _real_ Annabeth."

Some of the Olympian's snickered as she said '_real',_ knowing that she wasn't the real Annabeth to them.

"So," Aphrodite said, "you are dating Luke. Like Luke the traitor?"

"Shut up," Athena warned, "Luke wasn't the traitor in their reality. He was the hero."

"So who was Perseus?" Poseidon asked, gripping his trident.

"He was the traitor," Annabeth said to the ground. Not wanting to look in the God's eyes.

Poseidon's face fell, but he thought about how _his,_ Percy was the hero. He was alive, he was safe.

"So," Hermes started. "Perseus is the one who died?"

Annabeth nodded at the floor.

"Alright," so everything that happened to Luke in this reality, happened to Percy in their reality," Athena drew a diagram in the air. "So in short they traded places."

"Does that mean that Percy acts like Luke? Like exactly like him?" Apollo asked, "like they have the same personalities?"

Annabeth shrugged, "Luke acts like Luke, and Percy acted like Percy."

Everyone nodded, well not the demigods. They were too busy being so confused that they were too busy sitting there staring at the Gods in awe.

Annabeth looked like she wanted to say something more, but before she could, a flash of light exploded around them.

Then there were too people standing in the room.

"Luke!" Annabeth yelled, then jumped up and hugged the blonde person. She was about to kiss him before she looked up and saw the scar. A long white scar that reached from his right eye to his chin. Otherwise he looked just like Annabeth's Luke. The same sandy colored hair, and blue eyes. But these eyes were colder than Annabeth remembered, darker.

She backed away, and felt herself blush.

Most of the demigods got up to do the same as Annabeth. But when they saw her reaction, and they saw the scar they looked even more in shock that they were when they heard the Annabeth would be dating Percy.

The other person standing next to Luke had ink dark hair, and deep sea green eyes. The eyes that Annabeth sometimes felt in her nightmares. The same pale scar deforming his face. The same scar as Luke.

Perseus Jackson was standing beside Annabeth.

She felt hate expand in her chest. She backed away. Not understanding what she was seeing. All she wanted to do was throw she arms around Luke. Kiss him, hug him, ask him why he disappeared. But that scar made her blood run cold. She knew that that wasn't Luke, he couldn't have gotten that scar within the last twenty-four hours. That scar was years old. Just like Percy's.

"Percy," Poseidon stepped down from his throne and turned human size. He walked over to his son and held him at arms length. He saw the scar and his face dropped. He stepped away. "Who are you?"

Percy frowned, "Dad?" His voice was hoarse like he had spent days screaming.

"Your not my Percy," Poseidon answered. Shacking his head and turning away.

"Poseidon," Athena started, "let's just explain what is happening here."

Poseidon waved a hand for her to start while he walked back to his seat.

Poseidon looked confused and a little hurt, and his eyes turned a shade darker.

Athena sighed and told them the whole story. What happened in the story and who was from which reality.

Luke nodded, while Percy was still trying to sort all the information out.

Annabeth could already tell that their personalities were different.

"So what do we do know?" Rachel asked, glancing nervously glancing at the two still standing in the middle of the room.

Zeus grumbled something, them snapped his fingers again and another couch appeared beside the other two. Luke and Percy nervously glanced at each other, then sat together on the new couch.

"Well," Annabeth said, "who's gonna read next?"

When no one answered, she grumbled. "I guess I will."

**Piper 3**

"Great," Annabeth grumbled, "we get to read about the lovesick girl."

"I know someone else who's lovesick," Clarisse mumbled. Shooting looks at the two new traitors, who were sitting there looking uncomfortable.

"Shut it," Annabeth grumbled, but her cheeks grew color.

**After a morning of storm spirits, goat men and flying boyfriends, **

"Her boyfriend can fly?" Percy asked.

Athena nodded.

"Cool."

**Piper should've been losing her mind. Instead, all she felt was dread. **

**It's starting, she thought. Just like the dream said.**

"What dream and what's starting?" Conner questioned.

"I will probably tell us," Hermes answered his son.

**She stood in back of the chariot with Leo and Jason, while the bald guy, Butch handled the reins, and the blond girl, Annabeth, adjusted a bronze navigation device. **

"Your in this story?" Percy asked.

Annabeth didn't look at him but nodded, "the other reality Annabeth."

Percy nodded.

**They rose over the Grand Canyon and headed east, icy wind ripping straight through Piper's jacket. Behind them, more storm clouds were gathering.**

**The chariot lurched and bumped. It had no seat belts and the back was wide open, so Piper wondered if Jason would catch her again if she fell. That had been the most disturbing part of the morning - not that Jason could fly, but that he held her in his arms and yet didn't know who she was.**

**All semester she'd worked on a relationship, trying to get Jason to notice her as more than a friend. Finally she'd gotten the big dope to kiss her. The last few weeks had been the best of her life. And then, three nights ago, the dream had ruined everything - that horrible voice, giving her horrible news. She hadn't told anyone about it, not even Jason.**

"She's defiantly my daughter." Aphrodite said.

"Why?" Hades asked, "because she has weird dreams?"

"No!" She looked at him like he was poking her with a hot rod. "Because of her great relationship skills, duh."

Hades rolled hi eyes.

**Now she didn't even have _him_. It was like someone had wiped his memory, and she was stuck in the worst "do over" of all time. She wanted to scream. Jason stood right next to her: those sky blue eyes, close-cropped hair, that cute little scar on his upper lip. His face was kind and gentle, but always a little sad. And he just stared at the horizon, not even noticing her.**

"I think I'm going to be sick," Clarisse and Ares said at the same time.

**Meanwhile, Leo was being annoying, as usual. "That is so cool!" He spit a Pegasus feather out of his mouth. "Where are we going?"**

**"A safe place," Annabeth said. "The _only_ safe place for kids like us. Camp Half-Blood."**

**"Half-Blood?" Piper was immediately on guard. She hated that word. She'd been called a half-blood too many times - half Cherokee, half white - and it was never a compliment. "It that some kind of bad joke?"**

"Don't get on people's bad side, Annabeth." Rachel said.

"She took it the wrong way," was her only answer.

**"She means were demigods," Jason said. "Half god, half mortal."**

"Where'd he get that?" Athena asked.

**Annabeth looked back. "You seem to know a lot, Jason. But, yes, demigods. My mom is Athena, goddess of wisdom. Butch here is the son of Iris, the rainbow goddess."**

**Leo choked. "Your mom is a rainbow goddess?"**

"She's a nice woman," Poseidon mumbled.

**"Got a problem with that?" Butch said.**

**"No, no," Leo said. "Rainbows. Very macho."**

All the guys started to laugh.

"There he goes again!" Apollo laughed

"You guys need help," Annabeth muttered.

**"Butch is our best equestrian,"**

"He's a Brony?" Travis asked Conner.

**Annabeth said. "He gets along great with the pegasi."**

"Not as good as Percy," Luke muttered under his breath, hoping that the rest of the group didn't hear him.

**"Rainbows, ponies," Leo muttered.**

**"I'm gonna toss you off this chariot," Butch warned.**

**"Demigods," Piper said. "You mean you think you're... you think were -"**

"Yes I thought that we established this a while ago," Hades muttered.

**Lighting flashed. The chariot shuddered, and Jason yelled, "Left wheel's on fire."**

**Piper stepped back. Sure enough, the wheel was burning white flames lapping up the side of the chariot.**

"That's not good," Hephaestus said.

**The wind roared. Piper glanced behind them and saw dark shapes forming in the clouds, more storm spirits spiraling towards the chariot - except these looked more like horses than angles.**

Aphrodite sighed, "dark angles," she muttered softly.

**She started to say, "Why are they -"**

**"Anemoi come in different shapes," Annabeth said. "Sometimes human, sometimes stallions, depending on how chaotic they are. Hold on. This is going to get rough."**

**Butch flicked the reins. The pegasi put on a burst of speed, and the chariot blurred. Piper's stomach crawled into her throat. Her vision went black, and when it came back to normal, they were in a totally different place.**

**A cold grey ocean stretched out to the left. Snow-covered fields, roads, and forests spread to the right. Directly below them was a green valley, like an island of springtime, rimmed with snowy hills on three sides and water to the north. Piper saw a cluster of buildings like ancient Greek temples, a big blue mansion, ball courts, a lake, and a climbing wall that seemed to be on fire. But before she could really process all she was seeing, their wheels came off and the chariot dropped out of the sky.**

"Camp Half-Blood," the demigods muttered, happiness dripping off their voices.

"Hell." Dionysus grumbled, glaring at Zeus.

** Annabeth and Butch tried to maintain control. The pegasi labored to hold the chariot in a flight pattern, but they seemed exhausted from their burst of speed, and bearing the chariot and the weight of five people was just too much. **

**"The lake!" Annabeth yelled. "Aim for the lake!"**

"You can't just fall into a lake," Percy said, "the water will be as hard as concrete."

"Thank you for reminding us," Aphrodite said, nervously.

"It's what I do, the water being my thing and all."

**Piper remembered something her dad had once told her, about hitting water from up high being as bad as hitting cement.**

**And then - BOOM.**

"At least she has some sense," Percy muttered.

"So I don't have any sense?" Annabeth asked, a little bit of anger and hatred in her voice.

"No, you have sense," Percy said smirking, "just not very much when it comes to water."

"Whatever," Annabeth sighed and continued reading.

**The biggest shock was the cold. She was underwater, so disoriented that she didn't know which way was up. **

**She just had time to think: _This would be a stupid way to die. _**

**Then faces appeared in the green murk - girls with long black hair and glowing yellow eyes. they smiled at her, grabbing her shoulders, and hauled her up.**

**They tossed her, gasping and shivering, onto the shore. Nearby, Butch stood in the lake, cutting the wrecked harnesses off the pegasi. Fortunately, the horses looked okay, but they were flapping their wings and splashing water everywhere. Jason, Leo, and Annabeth were already on shore, surrounded by kids giving them blankets and asking questions. Somebody took Piper by the arms and helped her stand. Apparently kids fell into the lake a lot, because a detail of campers ran up with big bronze leaf blower-looking things and blasted Piper with hot air; and in about two seconds her clothes were dry.**

"Thanks to the Haphaestus cabin," Will said.

"I don't remember that," Percy said.

"You weren't there when he first got it," was all that Annabeth said. Percy looked at the ground.

**There were at least twenty campers milling around the youngest maybe nine, the oldest college age, eighteen or nineteen - and all of them had orange T-shirts Annabeth's. Piper looked back at the water and saw those strange girls just below the surface, their hair floating in the current. They waved like, _toodle-oo, _and disappeared into the depths. A second later the wreckage of the chariot was tossed from the lake and landed nearby with a wet crunch.**

**"Annabeth!" A guy with a bow and quiver on his back pushed through the crowd. "I said you could _borrow_ the chariot, not destroy it!"**

"Sounds like you," Clarisse said to Will.

**"Will, I'm sorry,"**

"Hah!"

"Shut up," Will said.

**Annabeth sighed. "I'll get it fixed, I promise."**

**Will scowled at his broken chariot. Then he sized up Piper, Leo, and Jason. "These are the ones? Way older than thirteen. Why haven't they been claimed already?"**

**"Claimed?" Leo asked.**

**Before Annabeth could explain, Will said, "Any sign of Percy."**

"What?" Percy asked.

Annabeth sighed, and Luke looked at her like, _I know I should know what this means, but tell me anyway._

"In the book, this Annabeth is dating a Perseus Jackson."

Percy blushed, and looked at his father awkwardly.

"But it's not us," he reasoned, "so it doesn't matter."

Annabeth nodded, glade that Percy reacted better than she did.

Luke felt a hot feeling rising in his chest. Not really sure what that feeling was.

**"No," Annabeth admitted.**

**The campers muttered. Piper had no idea who this guy Percy was, but his disappearance seemed to be a big deal.**

"It would be," Luke said, "he's their hero."

Luke had such a sadness in his voice that it made Annabeth's heart hurt. It took all her strength to not get up and hug the boy that looked so much like her boyfriend.

**Another girl stepped forward - tall, Asian, dark hair in ringlets, plenty of jewelry, and perfect makeup. Somehow she managed to make jeans and an orange T-shirt look glamorous. She glanced at Leo, fixed her eyes on Jason like he might be worthy of her attention, then curled her lip at Piper as if she were a week-old burrito that had just been pulled out of a Dumpster.**

"A week-old burrito?" Apollo questioned.

"Drew," Aphrodite said, suddenly she didn't seem very excited to talk about one of her children. "She's going to tear Piper up."

Athena looked at Aphrodite, wondering where the goddess that is always doing her nails, and gossiping about demigods' relationships, had gone between the past three chapters.

**Piper knew this girl's type. She'd dealt with a lot of girls like this at Wilderness School and every other stupid school her father had sent her to. Piper knew instantly they were going to be enemies. **

**"Well," the girl said, "I hope they're worth the trouble."**

Aphrodite flinched.

**Leo snorted. "Gee, thanks. What are we, your new pets?"**

**"No kidding," Jason said. "How about some answered before you start judging us - like, what it this place, why are we here, how long do we have to stay?"**

**Piper had the same questions, but a wave of anxiety washed over her. _Worth the trouble._ If they only knew her dream. They had no idea...**

"And we wont have any idea until you tell us!" Hermes said, rolling his eyes.

**"Jason," Annabeth said, "I promise we'll answer your questions. And Drew" - she frowned at the glamour girl - "all demigods are worth saving. But I'll admit, the trip didn't accomplish what I hoped."**

"That's really helping," Will snickered.

"Hey," Annabeth defended, "I haven't done this yet. So I don't know what I'm saying."

**"Hey," Piper said, "we didn't ask to be brought here."**

**Drew sniffed. "And nobody _wants_ you, hon. Does your hair always look like a dead badger?"**

"Just because you say 'hon'." Poseidon grumbled, "doesn't mean that your being nice."

**Piper stepped forward, ready to smack her, but Annabeth said, "Piper, stop."**

**Piper did. She wasn't a but scared of Drew, but Annabeth didn't seem like somebody she wanted for an enemy.**

"No, she's not." Perseus muttered under his breath.

**"We need to make our new arrivals feel welcome," Annabeth said with another pointed look at Drew. "We'll assign them each a guide, give them a tour of camp. Hopefully by the campfire tonight, they'll be claimed."**

**"Would somebody tell me what _claimed _means?" Piper asked.**

"What do you think it means?" said Ares.

**Suddenly there was a collective gasp. The campers backed away. At first Piper thought she'd done something wrong. Then she realized their faces were bathed in a s strange red light, as if someone had lit a torch behind her. She turned and almost forgot how to breathe. **

**Floating over Leo's head was a blazing holographic image - a fiery hammer.**

"The sign of Hephaestus," Hephaestus said proudly, grinning at the though of his son getting claimed. Then remembering Leo's gift, that only him and Leo knew about so far.

**"That," Annabeth said, "is claiming."**

**"What'd I do?" leo backed toward the lake. Then he glanced up and yelped. "Is my hair on fire?" He ducked, but the symbol followed him, bobbing and weaving so it looked like he was trying to write something in flames with his head.**

**"This can't be good," Butch muttered. "The curse -"**

**"Butch, shut up," Annabeth said. "Leo you've just been claimed -"**

**"By a god," Jason interrupted. "That's the symbol of Vulcan, isn't it?"**

"He's _really_ stuck on that Roman stuff," observed Athena.

**All eyes turned to him.**

**"Jason," Annabeth said carefully, "how did you know that?" **

**"I'm not sure."**

"Oh course not," Poseidon muttered, "you've said it all before."

**"Vulcan?" Leo demanded. "I don't even LIKE _Star Trek._ What are you talking about?"**

"_Star Trek?_" Athena asked Hephaestus.

He shrugged, "I don't know." he shook his head.

**"Vulcan is the Roman name for Hephaestus," Annabeth said, "the god of blacksmiths and fire."**

**The fiery hammer faded, but Leo kept swatting the air like he was afraid it was following him. "The god of _what_? Who?"**

**Annabeth turned to the guy with the bow.**

"His name is Will," Apollo glared at the book.

Will smiled knowing that his father really _did_ care about him.

**"Will, would you take Leo, give him a tour? Introduce him to his bunkmates in Cabin Nine."**

**"Sure, Annabeth." **

**"What's Cabin Nine?" Leo asked. "And I'm not a Vulcan!"**

**"Come on, Mr. Spock, I'll explain everything. " Will put a hand on his shoulder and steered him off toward the cabins. **

**Annabeth turned her attention back to Jason. Usually Piper didn't like it when other girls check out her boyfriend,**

"Technically, " Rachel said, "he's not your boyfriend anymore."

**but Annabeth didn't seem to care that he was good-looking guy.**

"She's too busy looking at Luke," Clarisse said.

Annabeth blushed, Luke looked at them like they were crazy.

**She studied him more like he was a complicated blueprint. Finally she said, "Hold out your arm."**

**Piper saw what she was looking at, and her eyes widened.**

**Jason had taken off his windbreaker after his dip in the lake, leaving his arms bare, and on the inside of his right forearm was a tattoo. How had Piper never noticed it before? She'd looked at Jason's arms a million times. The tattoo couldn't have just _appeared_, but it was darkly etched, impossible to miss: a dozen straight lines like a bar coade, and over that an eagle with the letters _SPQR._**

"_SPQR_?" Annabeth repeated trying to remember where she had heard that.

**"I've never seen marks like this," Annabeth said. "Where did you get them?"**

**Jason shook his head. "I'm getting really tired of saying this, but I don't know."**

**The other campers pushed forward, trying to get a look at Jason's tattoo. the marks seemed to bother them _a lot_ - almost like a declaration of war.**

**"They look burned into your skin," Annabeth noticed.**

"Dude," Travis said to Conner, "that's hardcore."

Conner nodded.

**"They were, " Jason said. Then he winced as if his head was aching. "I mean... I think so. I don't remember."**

**No one said anything. It was clear the campers saw Annabeth as the leader. They were waiting for her verdict.**

Annabeth smiled proudly.

"More like their terrified to get cut by her knife," Conner said, while nervously looking at Annabeth.

She hit him.

**"He needs to go straight to Chiron," Annabeth decided. "Drew, would you -"**

**"Absolutely." Drew laced her arm through Jason's. "This way, sweetie. I'll introduce you to our director. He's... and _interesting_ guy."**

"Does that mean he doesn't like Chrion?" Will asked.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Rachel said.

**She flashed Piper a smug look and led Jason toward the big blue house on the hill.**

**The crowd began to disperse, until only Annabeth and Piper were left. **

**"Who's Chiron?" Piper asked. "Is Jason in some kind of trouble?"**

**Annabeth hesitated. "Good question, Piper. Come on, I'll give you a tour. We need to talk.**

"You need to realize when to hesitate at a good time, so you don't freak people out." Will pointed to Annabeth.

"Shut up," Annabeth answered.

**END OF PIPER 3**


	6. Piper 4

**Okay, so this is what I was thinking. I was thinking of introducing character from the original pjo when their role in the books are starting or finishing. For example I will bring in Leo, Piper, and Jason at the end of the Lost Hero. I might change my mind. Just keep in mind that I can also take away a character after I give them.**

**Hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. **

* * *

Zeus looked at the group of demigods. They were a strange bunch. You could tell which of them were liked or disliked, and which ones came from which reality.

The original group of different reality demigods and mortal were sitting tightly together chatting and occasionally looking over at the other two 'traitors'. The two 'traitors' were sitting away from each other, pathetically trying to start a conversation. But failing miserably. They weren't sure what to make of each other, they looked at each other like they were both aliens from a different planet.

The Gods were chatting a little louder than their children. Poseidon and Athena were arguing again, while Aphrodite bragged about Piper. Zeus noticed that Hera was quiet and sitting with her hands folded over her lap, he knew she was nervous about something.

"What's wrong?" Zeus whispered to her.

She looked startled that someone had even tried to talk her.

"Nothing," she grumbled, and tried not to look her husband in the eyes.

"Hera," Zeus said his voice getting softer. "After spending eternity with you, I know when you are stressed."

Hera shrugged.

"Is it because I have another child with a mortal?" He asked, "Hera, that was Jupiter, not me. I don't even remember doing that. So please don't be angry."

Hera looked up.

"I know, Zeus." She faked a smile, "I know."

"Father?" Athena asked, her cheeks red from arguing with Poseidon, "I think it's time to take a night sleep, before we continue onto the next chapter."

Zeus nodded, "agreed."

* * *

Annabeth didn't want to sleep.

She laid in her bed in one of the spare rooms on Olympus. Which she thought was weird, because, how many people want to come and visit Olympus for more than a day? Who's allowed too?

Beside those abnormal thoughts. Annabeth tried to sleep. But it just wouldn't come. She felt a twist of feelings in her stomach. Almost the feeling that you get when your sick. When it didn't go away after an hour, she was almost sure that she had gotten sick. Maybe, the other Luke had brought a foreign disease with him. Still, she's never felt a feeling such as this one.

After a little while longer, she got so uncomfortable that she had to get up and walk to the bathroom a couple doors down.

Their rooms were located in a hallway that sprouted off the eating area of the Olympus palace. There were two hallways of rooms, each hallway had an almost endless amount of rooms. One hallway was for the boys, the other for the girls. The girls' bathroom was pink, and the fumes from the lotions and shampoos that were lined on the bath tub rim was overwhelming.

Annabeth got a glass of water, and tried to go back to bed.

She finally got to sleep. But when she did she had another dream:

It was bright in the cabin. She could tell that it was the Poseidon cabin. The walls were clay, with bits of seashells in it. Everything looked the same.

Except there was a pile of clothes on the floor and snickers wrappers were scattered around.

Annabeth couldn't remember ever seeing this cabin look the way that it did. Sure Percy was an airhead who was a little slow, but he always had a nice organized cabin and living space. He _never_ left anything on the floor.

But here was the same cabin, that went against everything that Percy knew.

The room was empty. Annabeth checked the bathroom, but no one was in the cabin. So she tried the door. It was locked, the handle wouldn't even twist.

She cursed and sat down on the bunk that looked the cleanest. Trying not to touch the, what looked like, dirty clothes on the floor.

Then she heard voices.

"Perseus." Someone grumbled right outside the door. It was a female, whose voice was annoyed but still had a playful tone. "Seriously, answer me."

The door opened and in stepped Percy with Annabeth.

This Annabeth looked the same as Annabeth, her blond hair was tied in a ponytail and her orange camp T-shirt and jeans were the exact pair that Annabeth had.

This Percy didn't look like the Percy that Annabeth knew though. He wore a orange camp T-shirt, which Annabeth hasn't seen him ware in six years. His hair was messy, his green eyes were bright and happy, and his right cheek was completely unmarked by a white scar or feature of any kind. It was a nicer, _better_ looking Percy. Annabeth thought she could almost feel her heart skip a beat when he flopped on the bed across from her.

The other Annabeth sighed, "Perseus, are you even listening to me?" She crossed her arms, and even though she looked like she wanted to go and lie next to Percy she stood her ground, glaring at him with stormy eyes.

"Yes, I'm listening," Percy said. His voice surprised Annabeth. It was higher and smoother than the Percy's she knew. It made goose-bumps form on her arms. "I'm just choosing not to pay any attention."

"Your and ass," Annabeth said and made a move to the door.

"Annabeth!" Percy jumped up and grabbed her arm before she could go, "it's not that big of a deal! I'll just tell my mom and Chiron need me to stay and do a couple of things. She wont even question it. Then I can stay with you."

"Then you'll be lying, and you suck at lying." She answered, completely forgetting about the door.

"Who cares? I think my mom knows anyway."

"Fine," the Annabeth rolled her eyes, but pushed Percy back, and laid next to him on the bunk. "I'm tired Percy, will you tell me a story?"

"A real one? Or a fake one?" He asked, wrapping his arms around her.

"Fake, they always have happy endings."

* * *

"So who wants to read the next chapter?" Annabeth asked, holding up the book and rereading what she read yesterday. The dream from last night was still bold in her head. She knew that the Annabeth and Percy she saw were the ones from the books, the ones from the different reality.

"I guess I will," Luke said, reaching for the book. "I want to know what it's like at camp now that I'm gone."

Annabeth nodded sadly at him and gave the book to him.

**Piper 3**

**Piper soon realized Annabeth's heart wasn't in the tour.**

**She talked about all this amazing stuff the camp offered - magic archery, Pegasus riding, the lava wall, fighting monsters - but she showed no excitement, as if her mind we elsewhere. She pointed out the open-air dining pavilion that over looked Long Island Sound. (Yes, Long Island, New York; they'd traveled _that_ far on the chariot.) Annabeth explained how Camp Half-Blood was mostly a summer camp, but some kids stayed here year-round, and they'd added so many campers it was always crowed now, even in winter.**

"Wow," Luke muttered, "it never used to be like that."

**Piper wondered who ran the camp, and how they'd known Piper and her friends belonged here. She wondered if she'd have to stay fill-time, or if she'd be any good at the activities. Could you flunk out of monster fighting?**

"Only it you want to die," Clarisse said.

**A million questions bubbled in her head, but given Annabeth's mood, she decided to keep quiet.**

**As they climbed a hill at the edge of camp, Piper turned and got an amazing view of the valley - a big stretch of woods to the northwest, a beautiful beach, the creek, the canoe lake, lush green fields, and the whole layout of the cabins - a bizarre assortment of buildings arranged like a Greek Omega with a loop of cabins around a central green, and two wrings sticking out the bottom on ether side. Piper counted twenty cabins in all. One glowed golden, another silver. One had grass on the roof. Another was bright red with barbed wire trenches. One cabin was black with fiery green torches out front.**

"Mine," Apollo said.

"Mine," said Artemis.

"Mine," Demeter said third.

"Mine," Ares said fourth.

"And mine," Hades said lastly, "mine's the newest."

"Only because you didn't have one before," Ares said.

"And that's was started the last war," Poseidon said, remembering his son's words.

**All of it seemed like a different world from the snowy hills and fields outside.**

**"The valley is protected from mortal eyes," Annabeth said. "As you can see, the weather is controlled, too. Each cabin represents a Greek god - a place for that god's children to live."**

**She looked at Piper like she was trying to judge how Piper was handling the news.**

**"You're saying Mom was a goddess."**

"Yes!" Will sighed, "how many times do we have to repeat stuff to you?"

"Careful child," Athena said, "she is the daughter of Aphrodite, remember?"

Aphrodite glared at her and her eyes turned black.

**Annabeth nodded. "You're taking this awfully calmly."**

**Piper could tell her why. She couldn't admit that this just confirmed some weird feelings she'd had for years, arguments she'd had with her father about why there were no photos of Mom in the house, and why Dad would never tell her exactly how or why her mom had left them. But mostly, the dream had warned her this was coming. _Soon they will find you, demigod, _that voice had rumbled. _When they do, follow out directions. Cooperate, and your father might live._**

"What is up with this girl and her dreams?" Travis asked, shaking his head. "She has like a strange addiction to them."

"A demigod's first dream is always the scariest," Annabeth whispered, again remembering her latest one.

**Piper took a shaky breath. "I guess after this morning, it's a little easier to believe. So who's my mom?"**

"Me," Aphrodite answered, "duh."

**"We should know soon," Annabeth said. "You're what - fifteen? Gods are supposed to claim you when you're thirteen. That was the deal."**

**"The deal?"**

"Percy's deal," Luke said.

"Luke's deal," Percy also said.

They looked at each other in a confused silence, then Luke just hurried up and continued to read.

**"They made a promise last summer... well, long story... but they promised not to ignore their demigod children anymore, to claim them by the time they turn thirteen. Sometimes it takes a little longer, but you saw how fast Leo was claimed once he got here. Should happen for you soon. Tonight at the campfire, I be we'll gat a sign."**

**Piper wondered if she'd have a big flaming hammer over her head, or with her luck, something even more embarrassing. A flaming wombat, maybe. Whoever her mother was, Piper had no reason to think she'd be proud to claim a kleptomaniac daughter with massive problems. "Why thirteen?"**

"That's not what you were thinking," Hermes said.

**"The older you get," Annabeth said, "the more monsters notice you, try to kill you. 'Round thirteen is usually when it starts. That's why we send protectors into the schools to find you guys, get you to camp before it's too late."**

**"Like Coach Hedge?"**

**Annabeth nodded. "He's - he was a satyr: half man, half goat. Satyrs work for camp, finding demigods, protecting them, bringing them in when the time is right."**

**Piper had no trouble believing that Coach Hedge was half goat. She'd seen the guy eat.**

"Does _every_ satyr eat like crazy?" Conner asked.

"Normally," Dionysus answered.

**She'd never liked the coach much, but she couldn't believe he'd sacrificed himself to save them. **

"It's his job," Annabeth commented.

**"What happened to him?" she asked. "When we went into the clouds, did he... is he gone for good?"**

**"Hard to say." Annabeth's expression was pained. "Strom spirits... difficult to battle. Even out best weapons, Celestial bronze, will pass right thorugh them unless you can catch them by surprise."**

**"Jason's sword just turned them to dust," Piper remembered.**

**"He was lucky, then. If you hit a monster just right, you can dissolve them, send their essence back to Tartarus."**

**"Tartarus?"**

**"A huge abyss in the Underworld, where the worst monsters come from. Kind of like a bottomless pit of evil.**

"It's not bottomless," Hades said, "there's a bottom. It's just really, really far down there."

**Anyway, once monster dissolve, it usually takes months, even years before they can re-form again . But since this storm spirit Dylan got away - well, I don't know why he'd keep Hedge alive. Hedge was a protector, though. He knew the risks. Satyrs don't have mortal souls. He'll be reincarnated as a tree or a flower or something."**

"That wouldn't be too bad of a way to die," Demeter admitted. "I'd be a apple tree!"

"How am I related to her?" Hades muttered to himself.

**Piper tried to imagine Coach Hedge as a clump of very angry pansies. That made her feel even worse.**

**She gazed at the cabins below, and an uneasy feeling settled over her. Hedge had died to get her here safely. Her mom's cabin was down there somewhere, which meant she had brothers and sisters, more people she'll have to betray.**_** Do what we tell you,**_** the voice had said. _Or the consequence will be painful. _She tucked her hands under her arms, trying to stop them from shaking.**

**"It'll be okay," Annabeth promised. "You have friends here. We've all been through a lot of weird stuff.**

"Some more than others," Rachel added.

**We know what you're going through."**

**I doubt that, Piper thought.**

**"I've been kicked out of five different schools the past five years," she said. "My dad's running out of places to put me."**

**"Only five?" Annabeth didn't sound like she was teasing.**

"I wasn't," Annabeth said.

**"Piper, we've all been labeled troublemakers. I ran away from home when I was seven."**

"Me too," Percy and Luke both said at the same time.

**"Seriously?"**

**"Oh, yeah. Most of us are diagnosed with attention deficit disorder or dyslexia, or both -"**

**"Leo's ADHD," Piper said.**

**"Right. It's because we're hardwired for battle. Restless, impulsive - we don't fit in with regular kids. You should hear how much trouble Percy -" Her face darkened.**

"I didn't do very much," Percy said, "I don't even have ADHD."

"Not, you," Luke told him. "The _other_ Perseus. He had ADHD really bad, could never sit still for two minuets."

Poseidon nodded in agreement. "He's probably the worst child I've ever had."

**"Anyway, demigods get a bad rep. How'd you get in trouble?"**

**Usually when someone asked that question, Piper started a fight, or changed the subject, or caused some kind of distraction. But for some reason she found herself telling the truth.**

**"I steal stuff," she said. "Well, not really _steal_..."**

**"Is your family poor?" **

"Wow," Percy muttered, "could you be a little more rude?"

Annabeth was about ready to stab him in the throat.

**Piper laughed bitterly. "Not even. I did it... I don't know why. For attention, I guess. My dad never had time for me unless I got in trouble."**

**Annabeth nodded. "I can relate. But you said you didn't really steal? What do you mean?"**

**"Well... nobody ever believes me. The police, teacher - even the people I took stuff from: they're so embarrassed, they'll deny what happened. But the truth is, I don't steal anything. I just ask people for things. And they give me stuff. Even a BMW convertible. I just asked. And the dealer said, 'Sure. Take it.' Later, he realized what he'd done, I guess. Then the police came after me."**

**Piper waited. She was used to people calling her a liar, but when se looked up, Annabeth just nodded.**

**"Interesting. If your _dad_ were the god, I'd say you're a child of Hermes, god of thieves. He can be pretty convincing. But your dad is mortal..."**

**"Very," Piper agreed.**

**Annabeth shook her head, apparently mystified. "I don't know, then. With luck, your mom will claim you tonight."**

**Piper almost hoped it wouldn't happen. If her mom were a goddess, would she know about that dream? Would she know what Piper had been asked to do? Piper wondered if Olympian gods ever blasted their kids with lightning for being evil, or grounded them in the Underworld. **

Percy laughed, "if they did. I would have been stuck in Tartarus for the last six years."

Luke nodded. All the other demigods looked at them in disgust.

**Annabeth was studying her. Piper decided she was going to have to be careful what she said from now on. Annabeth was obviously pretty smart. If anyone could figure out Piper's secret...**

"You have no idea how smart she is," Luke said. "Smartest Athena child in ten thousand years."

**"Come on," Annabeth said at last. "There's something else I need to check."**

**They hiked a little farther until they reached a cave near the top of the hill. Bones and old swords littered the ground. Torches flanked the entrance, which was covered in a velvet curtain embroidered with snakes. It looked like the set for some kind of twisted puppet show.**

"Hey!" Apollo said, "it's my oracle!"

**"What's in there?" Piper asked.**

**Annabeth poked her head inside, then sighed and closed the curtains. "Nothing, right now. A friend's place. I've been expecting her for a few days, but so far, nothing."**

**"Your friend lives in a cave?"**

**Annabeth almost managed a smile. "Actually, her family has a luxury condo in Queens, and she goes to a finishing school in Connecticut. But when she's here at camp, yeah, she lives in the cave. She's our oracle, tells the future. I was hoping she could help me -"**

"Find Percy," Luke said looking at the floor.

**"Find Percy," Piper guessed.**

**All the energy drained out of Annabeth.**

"Oh, Annabeth." Luke whispered, his voice had so much pain and hurt in it that it almost sounded like he was about ready to cry.

**Like she'd been holding it together for as long as she could. She sat down on a rock, and her expression was so full of pain, Piper felt like a voyeur.**

**She forced herself to look away. Her eyes drifted to the crest of the hill, where a single pine tree dominated the skyline. Something glittered in its lowest branch - like a fuzzy gold bath mat.**

**No... not a bath mat. It was a sheep's fleece. **

"The golden fleece," Will said.

**Okay, Piper thought. Greek camp. They've god a replica of the Golden Fleece.**

**Then she noticed the base of the tree. At first she thought it was wrapped in a pile of massive purple cables. But the cables had reptilian scales, clawed feet, and a snakelike head with yellow eyes and smoking nostrils.**

**"That's - a dragon," she stammered. "That's the _actual_ Golden Fleece?"**

"Yup," Luke said. "Thanks to, Percy and Annabeth."

**Annabeth nodded, but it was clear she wasn't really listening. Her shoulder drooped. She rubbed her face and took a shaky breath. "Sorry. A little tired."**

**"You look ready to drop," Piper said. "How long have you been searching for your boyfriend?"**

Annabeth paled at the thought, again. The stole a small glance at Percy, and remembered the other version of Percy she saw last night in her dream.

**"Three days, six hours, and about twelve minuets."**

"Annabeth," Luke sighed.

**"And you'e got no idea what happened to him?"**

**Annabeth shook her head miserably. "We were so excited because we both started winter break early. We met up at camp on Tuesday, figured we had three weeks together. It was going to be great. Then after the campfire, he - he kissed me good night, went back to his cabin, and in the morning, he was gone.**

"Just like Luke," Annabeth said.

Poseidon and Athena glanced at each other awkwardly and squirmed in their chairs.

**We searched the whole camp. We contacted him mom. We've tried to reach him every way we know how. Nothing. He just disappeared."**

**Piper was thinking: _three days ago. _The same night she'd had her dream. "How long were you guys together?"**

**"Since August," Annabeth said. "August eighteenth."**

"My birthday," Perseus said, looking at Annabeth, obviously looking for an answer.

"Don't look at me," she said. "This isn't me."

**"Almost exactly when I met Jason," Piper said. "But we've only been together a few weeks."**

**Annabeth winced. "Piper... about that."**

"It's all because of the Mist," Athena said.

**"Maybe you should sit down."**

**Piper knew where this was going. Panic started building inside of her, like her lungs were filling with water. "Look, I know Jason thought - he thought he just _appeared_ at our school today. But that's not true. I've known him for four months."**

**"Piper," Annabeth said sadly. "It's the Mist."**

**"Missed... what?"**

**"M-i-s-t. It's a kind of veil separating the mortal world from the magic world. Mortal minds - they can't process strange stuff like gods and monsters, so the Mist bends reality."**

"Unless you have the Sight," Rachel said. "Like me."

**"It makes mortals see things in a way they _can_ understand - like their eyes might just skip over this valley completely, or they might look at that dragon and see a pile of cables."**

**Piper swallowed. "No. You said yourself I'm not a regular mortal. I'm a demigod."**

"Good point," Zeus pointed out.

**"Even demigods can be affected. I've seen it lots of times. Monsters infiltrate some place like a school, pass themselves off as human, and everyone _thinks_ they remember that person. They believe he's always been around. The Mist can change memories, even create memories of things that never happened -"**

**"But Jason's not a monster!" Piper insisted. "He's a human guy, or demigod, or whatever you want to call him. My memories aren't fake. They're _so_ real. The time we set Coach Hedge's pants on fire. The time Jason and I watched a meteor shower on the dorm roof and I finally got the stupid guy to kiss me..."**

"Aww!" Aphrodite cooed, "That's beautiful!"

**She found herself rambling, telling Annabeth about her whole semester at Wilderness School. She'd liked Jason from the first week they'd met. He was so nice to her, and so patient, he could even put up with hyperactive Leo and his stupid jokes.**

"His jokes are funny!" Conner protested.

"Yeah!" Apollo agreed, "what's wrong with this girl?"

**He'd accepted her for herself and didn't judge her because of the stupid things she'd done. They'd spent hours talking, looking at the stars, and eventually - _finally _- holding hand. All that _couldn't _be fake.**

**Annabeth pursed her lips. "Piper, your memories are a lot sharper than most. I'll admit that, and I don't know why that is. But if you know him so well -"**

"Oh, no." Aphrodite said, "don't test her."

**"I do!"**

**"Then where is he from?"**

**"I-I don't know, but -"**

**"Piper, what's his last name?"**

**Her mind went blank. She didn't know Jason's last name. How could that be?**

"The Mist," Hades said, "it's a bitch."

"Watch your language," Athena shot him a nasty glare, Hades just returned the favor.

**She started to cry. She felt like a total fool, but she sat down on the rock next to Annabeth and just fell to pieces. It was too much. Did _everything_ that was good in her stupid, miserable life have to be taken away?**

_**Yes, **_**the dream had told her. _Yes, unless you do exactly what we say._**

"That dream has some issues with Piper, doesn't it?" Poseidon said, wondering what the dream had _really _said.

**"Hey," Annabeth said. "We'll figure it out. Jason's here now. Who knows? Maybe it'll work out with you guys for real."**

"It better," Aphrodite grumbled.

**Not likely, Piper thought. Not if the dream had told her the truth. But she couldn't say that.**

**She brushed a tear from her cheek. "You brought me up here so no one would see me blabbering, huh?"**

"She's smart like that," Luke said.

**Annabeth shrugged. "I figured it would be hard for you. I know what it's like to lose your boyfriend."**

Annabeth look sadly down at the floor, praying that Luke was alright.

**"But I still can't believe... I _know_ we had something. And now it's just gone, like he doesn't even recognize me. If he really did just show up today, then why? How'd he get there? Why can't he remember anything?"**

"That's what everyone has been wondering," Zeus said.

**"Good questions," Annabeth said. "Hopefully Chiron can figure that out. But for now, we need to get your settled. You ready to go back down?"**

**Piper gazed at the crazy assortment of cabins in the valley. Her new home, a family who supposedly understood her - but soon they'd be just another bunch of people she'd disappointed, just another place she'd been kicked out of.**

"Can you get kicked out of Camp?" Clarisse asked, then she looked over at the two traitors and quickly looked down at the floor and muttered, "never mind."

_**You'll betray them for us, **_**the voice had warned. _Or you'll lose everything._**

**She didn't have a choice.**

**"Yeah," she lied. "I'm ready."**

**On the central green, a group of campers was playing basketball. They were incredible shots.**

"My sons," Apollo bragged, "of course."

**Nothing bounced off the rim. Three-pointers went in automatically.**

**"Apollo's cabin," Annabeth explained. "Bunch of showoffs with missile weapons - arrows, basketballs."**

"Hey," Apollo and Will complained, "that's not nice!"

"You guys sound like two year-olds," Artemis said, shaking her head.

**They walked past a central fire pit, where two guys were hacking at each other with swords. **

**"Real blades?" Piper noted.**

"No," Clarisse said sarcasicaly. "They're the plastic ones you can get at Party City!"

**"Isn't that dangerous?"**

**"That's sort of the point," Annabeth said. "Uh, sorry. Bad pun. That's my cabin over there. Number Six." She nodded to a gray building with a carved owl over the door. Thought the open doorway, Piper could see bookshelves, weapon displays, and one of those computerized SMART Boards they have in classrooms. Two girls were drawing a map that looked like a battle diagram.**

"I love my cabin," Annabeth sighed, remembering her cabin that she'd left behind.

**"Speaking of blades," Annabeth said, "come here."**

**She led Piper around the side of the cabin, to a big metal shed that looked like it was meant for gardening tools. Annabeth unlocked it, and inside were _not_ gardening tools, unless you wanted to make war on your tornado plants. The shed was lined with all sorts of weapons - from swords to spears to clubs like Coach Hedge's.**

**"Every demigod needs a weapon," Annabeth said. "Hephaestus makes the best,"**

"And you know it," Hephaestus grumbled.

**"but we have a pretty good selection, too. Athena's all about strategy - matching the right weapon to the right person. Let's see..."**

**Piper didn't feel much like shopping for deadly objects, but she knew Annabeth was trying to do something nice for her. **

**Annabeth handed her a massive sword, which Piper could hardly lift.**

**"No," they both said at once.**

**Annabeth rummaged at little farther in the shed and brought out something else.**

**"A shotgun?" Piper asked.**

**"Mossberg 500." Annabeth checked the pump action like it was no big deal.**

"Have you ever seen a demigod carrying around a shotgun?" Will asked.

"I did for a year," Conner said.

"Oh."

**"Don't worry. It doesn't hurt humans. It's modified to shoot Celestial bronze, so it only kills monsters."**

**"Um, I don't think that's my style," Piper said.**

**"Mmmm, yeah," Annabeth agreed. "Too flashy."**

"And it looks stupid," Clarisse added.

**She put the shotgun back and started poking through a rack of crossbows when something in the corner of the shed caught Piper's eye.**

**"What is that?" she said. "A knife?"**

**Annabeth dug it out and blew the dust off the scabbard. It looked like it hadn't seen the light of say in centuries. **

**"I don't know, Piper." Annabeth sounded uneasy. "I don't think you want this one. Swords are usually better."**

**"You use a knife." Piper pointed to the one strapped to Annabeth's belt.**

"Yes," Annabeth said.

**"Yeah, but..." Annabeth shrugged. "Well, take a look it you want."**

**The sheath was worn black leather, bound in bronze. Nothing fancy, nothing flashy. The polished wood handle fit beautifully in Piper's hand. When she unsheathed it, she fount a triangular blade eighteen inches long - bronze gleaming like it had been polished yesterday. the edges were deadly sharp. Her reflection in the blade caught her by surprise. She looked older, more serious, not as scared as she felt.**

"Beautiful," Hephaestus said.

"Piper, or the weapon?" Aphrodite questioned.

"The weapon," Hephaestus looked at his wife like she was crazy.

**"It suits you," Annabeth admitted. "That kind of blade is called a parazonium. It was mostly ceremonial, carried by high-ranking officers in the Greek armies. It showed you were a person of power and wealth, but in a fight, it could protect you just fine."**

**"I like it," Piper said. "Why didn't you think it was right?"**

**Annabeth exhaled. "That blade has a long story. Most people would be afraid to claim it. Its first owner... well, things didn't turn out too well for her. Her name was Helen."**

"Like Helen of Troy?" Rachel asked, Annabeth who nodded. "Why do you just keep that sort of historical stuff in a gardening shed?"

"It's a weapon, it might still save someones life." She muttered.

**Piper let that sink in. "Wait, you mean _the_ Helen? Helen of Troy?"**

**Annabeth nodded.**

**Suddenly Piper felt like she should be handling the dagger with surgical gloves. "And it's just sitting in your toolshed?"**

"That's what I said," reminded Rachel.

**"We're surrounded by Ancient Greek stuff," Annabeth said. "This isn't a museum. Weapons like that - they're meant to be used. They're our heritage as demigods. That was a wedding present from Menelaus, Helen's first husband.**

Aphrodite sighed, "what a beautiful wedding."

"You were there?" Percy asked.

Aphrodite laughed, "I'm at every wedding sweetie."

**She named the dagger Katoptris."**

**"Meaning?" **

**"Mirror," Annabeth said. "Looking glass. Probably because that's the only thing Helen used it for. I don't think it's ever seen battle."**

**Piper looked at the blade again. for a moment, her own image stared up at her, but then the reflection changed. She saw flames, and a grotesque face like something carved from bedrock. She heard the same laughter as in her dream. She saw her dad in chains, tied to a post in front of a roaring bonfire.**

"Oh, yeah," Conner grimaced. "That's something that can make you a little jumpy."

**She dropped the blade. **

**"Piper?" Annabeth shouted to the Apollo kids on the court, "Medic! I need some help over here!"**

"Oh so _now_ you need the Apollo kids?" Apollo smirked at Annabeth.

"It's not me! I didn't say that," she sighed, "why can't you guys get that."

**"No, it's - it's okay," Piper managed.**

**"You sure?"**

**"Yeah. I just..." She had to control herself. With trembling fingers, she picked up the dagger. "I just got overwhelmed. So much happening today. But... I want to keep the dagger, if that's okay."**

**Annabeth hesitated. Then she waved off the Apollo kids. "Okay, if you're sure. You turned really pale, there. I thought you were having a seizure or something."**

"Jeez," Poseidon said, "your daughter jump to conclusions much?"

"Shut up," Athena grumbled, about ready to choke the god of seas.

**"I'm fine," Piper promised, thought her heart was still racing. "Is there... um, a phone at camp? Can I call my dad?" **

**Annabeth's gray eyes were almost as unnerving as the dagger blade. She seemed to be calculation a million possibilities, trying to read Piper's thought's.**

**"We aren't allowed phones," she said. "Most demigods, if they use a cell phone, it's like sending up a signal, letting monsters know where you are. But... I've got one." She slipped it out of her pocket. "Kind of against the rules, but if it can be our secret..."**

**Piper took it gratefully, trying not to let her hands shake. She stepped away from Annabeth and turned to face the commons area.**

"She might set a entire army of monsters on to the camp!" Dionysus shouted.

Everyone looked at him with a strange expression.

"What's it to you?" Calrisse asked, "you always acted like you hated that place."

"Oh, I do." He answered, "but an entire fridge of coke is hidden in the big house."

**She called her dad's private line, even though she knew what would happen. Voice mail. She'd been trying for three days, ever since the dream. Wilderness School only allowed phone privileges once a day, but she'd called every evening, and gotten nowhere.**

**Reluctantly she dialed the other numbers. Her dad's personal assistant answered immediately. "Mr. McLean's office."**

**"Jane," Piper said, gritting her teeth. "Where's my dad?"**

**Jane was silent for a moment, probably wondering if she could get away with hanging up.**

"I should just curse her with bad hair for life," Aphrodite grumbled.

**"Piper, I thought you weren't supposed to call from school."**

**"Maybe I'm not at school," Piper said. "Maybe I ran away to live among the woodland creatures."**

**"Mmm." Jane didn't sound concerned. "Well, I'll tell him you called."**

**"Where is he?"**

**"Out."**

**"You don't know, do you?" Piper lowered her voice, hoping Annabeth was too nice to eavesdrop.**

"Depends," Travis said, "on which moods she's in."

"What?" Annabeth asked, "I just eavesdrop on you two because your usually planning on a prank that will put the camp up in flames!"

"Valed point."

**"When are you going to call the police, Jane? He could be in trouble."**

**"Piper, we are not going to turn this into a media circus. I'm sure he'd fine. He does take off occasionally. He always comes back."**

**"So it's true. You _don't_ know -"**

**"I have to go, Piper," Jane snapped. "Enjoy school."**

**The line went dead. Piper cursed. She walked back to Annabeth and handed her the phone.**

**"No luck?" Annabeth asked.**

**Piper didn't answer. She didn't trust herself not to started crying again.**

"I never liked that women," Aphrodite grumbled.

**Annabeth glanced at the phone display and hesitated. **

**"Your last name is McLean? Sorry, it's not my business. But that sounds really familiar."**

**"Common name."**

**"Yeah, I guess. What does your dad do?"**

**"He's got a degree in the arts," Piper said automatically. "He's a Cherokee artist."**

**Her standard response. Not a lie, just not the whole truth. Most people, when they heard that, figured her dad sold Indian souvenirs at a roadside stand on a reservation. Sitting Bull bobble-heads, wampum necklaces, Big Chief tablets - that kind of thing.**

"Wait," Athena said, "who is Piper's father, Aphrodite?"

"It will probably say in the book, at some point." She answered, without giving Athena even a glance.

**"Oh." Annabeth didn't look convinced, but she put the phone away. "You feeling okay? Want to keep going?"**

**Piper fastened her new dagger to her belt and promised herself that later, when she was alone, she'd figure out how it worker. "Sure," she said. "I want to see everything."**

"How long _is_ this chapter?" Apollo whined, "I want to hear more about Leo."

"Just shut up and get over it," Artemis groaned, and glared at her twin. Wondering how she could be related to that stupid boy.

**All the cabins were cool, but none of them struck Piper as _hers_. No burning signs - wombats or otherwise - appeared over her head.**

**Cabin Eight was entirely silver and glowed like moonlight.**

**"Artemis?" Piper guessed.**

"Smart girl," Artemis grinned. "I could use her as a hunter." Then she sighed sadly, "if only she didn't like that ridiculous son of Jupiter."

**"You know Greek mythology," Annabeth said.**

**"I did some reading when my dad was working on a project last year."**

**"I thought he did Cherokee art."**

"You got caught," Ares laughed.

**Piper bit back a curse. "Oh, right. But - you know, he does other stuff too."**

"Suuure," Travis mocked.

**Piper thought she'd blown it: McLean, Greek mythology. thankfully, Annabeth didn't seem to make the connection.**

"Only because she doesn't watch popular movies," Aphrodite said.

"I watch movies," Annabeth answered, "just not very often."

"Just the random date with Luke," Rachel added.

"Shut up," Annabeth growled.

**"Anyway," Annabeth continued, "Artemis us goddess of the moon, goddess of hunting. But no campers. Artemis was an eternal maiden, so she doesn't have nay kids."**

**"Oh." That kind of bummed Piper out. She'd always like the stories of Artemis, and figured she would make a cool mom.**

"I'm really starting to enjoy this girl." Artemis smiled.

**"Well, there _are_ Hunters of Artemis," Annabeth amended. "They visit sometimes. They're not the children of Atremis, but they're her handmaidens - this band of immortal teenage girls who adventure together and hunt monsters and stuff."**

**Piper perked up.**

"Of course she did," Artemis mumbled, "she is naturally drawn to a powerful woman."

**"That sounds cool. They get to be immortal?"**

**"Unless they die in combat, or break their vows. Did I mention they have to swear off boys? No dating - ever. For eternity."**

**"Oh," Piper said, "Never mind."**

"She cannot escape the power of love," Aphrodite singed.

Artemis glared.

**Annabeth laughed. For a moment she looked almost happy, and Piper thought she'd be a cool friend to hand out with in better times.**

**Forget it, Piper reminded herself. You're not going to make and friends here. Not once they find out.**

**They passed the next cabin, Number Ten, which was decorated like a Barbie house with lace curtains, a pink door, and potted carnations in the windows. They walked by the doorway, and the smell of perfume almost made Piper gag.**

"Hey! That's your cabin too you know, don't start bagging on it until you know it." Aphrodite crossed her arms.

**"Gah, it that where supermodels go to die?"**

**Annabeth smirked. "Aphrodite's cabin. Goddess of love. Drew is the head counselor."**

**"Figures," Piper grumbled.**

**"They're not all bad," Annabeth said. "The last head counselor we had was great."**

**"What happened to her?"**

**Annabeth's expression darkened. "We should keep moving."**

**They looked at the other cabins, but Piper just got more depressed. She wondered if she could be the daughter of Demeter, the farming goddess. Then again, Piper killed every plant she ever touched. **

"Yeah, she's not getting anywhere near my wheat." Demeter muttered.

**Athena was cool.**

"Nope, sorry."

**Or maybe Hecate, the magic goddess.**

"She doesn't have the personality."

**But it didn't really matter. Even here, the magic goddess. But it didn't really matter. Even here, where everyone was supposed to find a lost parent, she knew she would still end up the unwanted kid. She was not looking forward to the campfire tonight.**

"She's really hard on herself," Hades muttered.

"What is wrong with you today?" Poseidon asked, looking at his brother like he just sprouted another arm. "You're all in tune with people's feelings, are you sick?"

"I can understand people's feelings, I'm not just a empty shell of a person?" Hades glared at Poseidon, who just smirked and shook his head.

"Whatever works for you brother."

**"We started with the twelve Olympian gods," Annabeth explained. "Male gods on the left, female on the right. Then last year, we added a whole bunch of new cabins for the other gods who didn't have a throne on Olympus - Hecate, Hades, Iris -"**

**"What are the two big ones on the end?" Piper asked. **

"Zeus and Hera," Poseidon grumbled, "King and Queen of Olympus."

"You're just jealous," Zeus muttered back.

**Annabeth frowned. "Zeus and Hera. King and queen of the gods."**

**Piper headed that way, and Annabeth followed, though she didn't act very excited.**

"Who would be?" Travis whispered to Conner.

**The Zeus cabin reminded Piper of a bank.. It was white marble with big columns out front and polished bronze doors emblazoned with lightning bolts. **

**Hera's cabin was smaller but done in the same style, except the doors were carved with peacock feather designs, shimmering with different colors.**

"You can your peacocks," Hermes rolled his eyes.

**Unlike the other cabins, which were all noisy and open and full of activity, the Zeus and Hera cabins looked closed and silent.**

**"Are they empty?" Piper asked.**

**Annabeth nodded. "Zeus went a long time without having any children."**

"Ha," Hera laughed, "yeah right."

**"Well, mostly. Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, the eldest brothers among the gods - they're called the Big Three. Their kids are really powerful, really dangerous."**

"She speaks to highly of us," Poseidon laughed.

"She's just bragging that she's dating a powerful demigod," Hera grumbled.

**"For the last seventy years or so, they tried to avoid having demigod children."**

**"_Tried_ to avoid it?"**

"That's what I said," Hera agreed.

**"Sometimes they... um, cheated."**

"That's a bad way to put it," Zeus sighed.

**"I've got a friend, Thalia Grace, who's the daughter of Zeus. But she gave up camp life and became a Hunter of Artemis."**

"She didn't get her brains from her father," Artemis smirked at Zeus, who just glared.

**My boyfriend, Percy, he'd a son of Poseidon. And there's a kid who shows up sometimes, Nico - son of Hades. Except for them, there are no demigod children of the Big Three gods. At least, not that we know of."**

"That we know of," Hera glared at Zeus.

**"And Hera?" Piper looked at the peacock-decorated doors.**

"Nope," Hera smirked, "I actually have some self control."

**The cabin bothered her, thought she wasn't sure why.**

**"Goddess of marriage." Annabeth's tone was carefully controlled, like she was trying to avoid cursing.**

"I hate that child," Hera grumbled.

"She's the reason that you're here and not in Tartarus," Athena pointed out.

**"She doesn't have kids with anyone but Zeus. So, yeah, no demigods. the cabin's just honorary."**

**"You don't like her," Piper noticed.**

**"We have a long history," Annabeth admitted. "I thought we'd made peace, but when Percy disappeared... I got this weird dream vision from her."**

**"Telling you to come get us," Piper said. "But you thought Percy would be there."**

**"It's probably better I don't talk about it," Annabeth said. "I've got nothing good to say about Hera right now."**

"That would be wise of you," Hera said.

_Could Hera be the one who took Percy? _Annabeth thought, _if she did, then wouldn't that mean that she took Luke too?_

**Piper looked down the base of the doors. "So who goes in here?"**

"No one," Hera grumbled.

**"No one. The cabin is just honorary, like I said. No one goes in."**

**"Someone does." Piper pointed at a footprint on the dusty threshold. On instinct, she pushed the doors and they swung open easily.**

**Annabeth stepped back. "Um, Piper, I don't think we should -"**

"They better not go in there," Hera said. "If they do they wont come back out."

**"We're supposed to do dangerous stuff, right?" And Piper walked inside.**

Apollo laughed, "she got you."

**Hera's cabin was not someplace Piper would want to live. It was as cold as a freezer, with a circle of white columns around a central statue of the goddess, ten feet tall, seated on a throne in flowing golden robes. piper had always thought of Greek statues as white with blank eyes, but this one was brightly painted so it looked almost human - except hugs. Hera's piercing eyes seemed to follow Piper.**

"You're scary." Apollo said.

**At the goddess's feet, a fire burned in a bronze brazier. Piper wondered who tended it if the cabin was always empty. A stone hawk sat on Hera's shoulder, and in her hand was a staff topped with a lotus flower. The goddess's hair was done in black plaits. Her face smiled, but the eyes were cold and calculating, as if she were saying: _Mother knows best. Now don't cross me or I will have to step on you._**

"She's actually said that to me a couple times," Hephaestus grumbled.

The demigods looked at her in surprise, Hera just shrugged.

**There was nothing else in the cabin - no beds, no furniture, no bathroom, no windows, nothing that anyone could actually use to live. For a goddess of home and marriage, Hera's place reminded Piper of a tomb.**

**No, this wasn't her mom. At least Piper was sure of _that_. She hadn't come in here because she felt a _good_ connection, but because her sense of dread was stronger here. Her dream - that horrible ultimatum she'd been handed - had something to do with this cabin.**

"She's just plain paranoid now," Percy grumbled as he wiped down his sword.

**She froze. They weren't alone. Behind the statue, at a little altar in the back, stood a figure covered in a black shawl.**

"That's not scary," Luke sighed.

**Only her hands were visible, palms up. she seemed to be chanting something like a spell or a prayer.**

**Annabeth gasped. "Rachel?"**

"What are you doing in there?" Apollo asked Rachel, who just shrugged.

**The other girl turned. She dropped her shawl, revealing a mane of curly red hair and freckled face that didn't go with the seriousness of the cabin or the black shawl at all. She looked about seventeen, a totally normal teen in a green blouse and tattered jeans covered with marker doodles. despite that cold floor, she was barefoot.**

**"Hey!" She ran to give Annabeth a hug. "I'm so sorry! I came as fast as I could."**

**They talked for a few minuets about Annabeth's boyfriend and how there was no news, et cetera, until finally Annabeth remember Piper who was standing there feeling uncomfortable.**

"Wait," Perseus said, then looked to Rachel. "Didn't you have a thing going on with Luke?"

Rachel blushed and looked at Annabeth for permission, Annabeth nodded.

"Yeah," Rachel said, "we hung out a couple times. But he's Annabeth's now, were just friends.

**"I'm being rude," Annabeth apologized. "Rachel, this is Piper, one of the half-bloods we rescued today. Piper, this is Rachel Elizabeth Dare, our oracle."**

"R.E.D," I just got that Conner said. Rachel rolled her eyes.

**"The friend who lives in the cave," Piper guessed.**

**Rachel grinned. "That's me."**

**"So you're an oracle?" Piper asked. "You can tell the future?"**

"More like it controls me," Rachel grumbled.

**"More like the future mugs me from time to time," Rachel said. "I speak prophecies. The oracle's spirit kind of hijacks me every once in a while and speaks important stuff that doesn't make any sense to anybody. But yeah, the prophecies tell the future."**

"That's the nice way to put it," Rachel added.

**"Oh." Piper shifted from foot to foot. "That's cool."**

**Rachel laughed. "Don't worry. Everybody finds it a little creepy. Even me. But usually I'm harmless."**

"Usually?" Luke asked her, she just shrugged.

"I'm wicked with a hairbrush," was all that she said.

Luke remembered the Rachel in his reality, who had thrown a hair brush at him when he had just got the spirit of Kronos. Luke saw Percy wince, he knew what she was talking about.

**"You're a demigod?"**

**"Nope," Rachel said. "Just mortal."**

**"Then what are you..." Piper waved her hand around the room.**

**Rachel's smile faded. She glanced at Annabeth, then back at Piper. "Just a hunch. Something about this cabin and Percy's disappearance. They're connected somehow. I've learned to follow my hunches, especially the last months, since the gods went silent."**

Everyone looked at Hera, she shrunk in her throne.

**"Went silent?" Piper asked.**

**Rachel frowned at Annabeth. "You haven't told her yet?"**

**"I was getting to that," Annabeth said. "Piper, for the last month... well, it's normal for the gods not to talk to their children very much."**

Cue the glares at the gods.

**"But usually we can count on some messages now and then. Some of us can even visit Olympus. I spent practically all semester at the Empire State Building."**

**"Excuse me?"**

**"The entrance to Mount Olympus these days."**

**"Oh," Piper said. "Sure, why not?"**

"I told you we should have started somewhere else," Apollo complained. "It's boring here."

"You'd rather be under the Golden Gate Bridge?" Artemis asked.

"That would be awesome!"

"Oh. My. Gods."

**"Annabeth was redesigning Olympus after it was damaged in the Titan War," Rachel explained. "She's an amazing architect. You should see the salad bar -"**

"Yeah," Ares agreed, "that salad bar is awesome."

**"Anyway," Annabeth said, "starting about a month ago, Olympus fell silent. The entrance closed, and no one could get in. Nobody knows why. It's like the gods have sealed themselves off. Even my mom won't answer my prayers, and our camp director, Dionysus, was recalled."**

"It's because were too busy sitting here reading," said Zeus.

**"Your camp director was the god of... wine?"**

"Got a problem with that?" Dionysus asked, peeking over his magazine.

**"Yeah, it's a -"**

**"Long story." Piper guessed.**

"Good guess," Dionysus said.

**"Right. Go on."**

**"That's it, really," Annabeth said. "Demigods still get claimed, but nothing else. No messages. No visits. No sign that the gods are even listening. It's like something has happened - something _really_ bad. Then Percy disappeared."**

**"And Jason showed up on our field trip," Piper supplied. "With no memory."**

**"Who's Jason?" Rachel asked.**

**"My -" Piper stopped herself before she could say "boyfriend," but the effort made her chest hurt. **

Aphrodite gave a sad sigh.

**"My friend. But Annabeth, you said Hera sent you a dream vision."**

**"Right," Annabeth said. "The first communication from a god in a month, and it's Hera, the least helpful goddess, and she contacts me, her least favorite demigod."**

"I'm going to disinagrate her," Hera grumbled, Zeus put a protective hand on her shoulder.

**"She tells me I'll find out what happened to Percy if I go to the Grand Canyon skywalk and look for a guy with one shoe."**

"Jason," Annabeth said.

**"Instead, I find you guys, and the guy with one shoe is Jason. It doesn't make sense."**

**"Something bad is happening," Rachel agreed. She looked at Piper, and Piper felt an overwhelming desire to tell them about her dream, to confess that _she_ knew what was happening - at least part of the story. And the bad stuff was only beginning.**

"Foreshodowing," Athena said. "Not good."

**"Guys," she said. "I -I need to -"**

**Before she could continue, Rachel's body stiffened. Her eyes began to glow with a greenish light, and she grabbed Piper by the shoulders.**

"That's not scary," Travis said.

**Piper tried to back away, but Rachel's hands were like steel clamps. **

_**Free me, **_**she said. But it wasn't Rachel's voice. It sounded like an older woman, speaking from somewhere far away, down a long, echoing pipe. _Free me, Piper McLean, or the earth shall swallow is. It must be by the solstice._**

"Oh, no." Aphrodite sighed, "please don't send her on a quest."

**The room started spinning. Annabeth tried to separate Piper from Rachel, but it was no use. Green smoke enveloped them, and PIper was no longer sure if she was awake or dreaming. The giant statue of the goddess seemed to rise from its throne. It leaned over Piper, its eyes boring into her. The statue's mouth opened, its breath like horribly thick perfume. It spoke in the same echoing voice: _Our enemies stir. The fiery one is only the first. Bow to his will, and their king shall rise, dooming us all. FREE ME!"_**

**Piper's knees buckled and everything went black.**

"That's the end of the longest chapter in history," Luke said, looking up from the pages.

Hephaestus sighed and mumbled, "that sounded like it was talking about Leo."

And Aphrodite was chewing on her perfectly manicured nails.

"Who wants to read next?" Luke asked.

"I will," Hephaestus said, and he took the book from Luke and turned the page.

**END OF PIPER 4**


	7. Leo 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Seriously.**

* * *

"Before we started the next chapter," Percy said. "I want to ask a couple questions, so that we can understand where everyone came from."

Annabeth nodded, this was the moment that she's been dreading. She knew that Percy would want to ask her about camp, see how it was without him. And she didn't want to talk to him, to feel pity for him. His death hurt her, because he did the good thing in the end. It made her regret everything horrible thing that she's ever thought about him.

They were friends once. When they were seven. Percy ran away from his mother, when Annabeth ran away from her father. They lived together. They looked out for each other. They were best friends, she thought he'd never leave her, and she'd never leave him. When they got to camp, Thalia was turned into her pine tree. Leaving Percy and Annabeth alone in a new strange place.

There they lived. Annabeth could remember them hanging out together everyday. Laughing and practicing. They were all each other had. Then Percy was allowed a quest. When he came back, he wasn't the same. The nasty scar that he had recived on his right cheek made his once good looks, turn into a dark mysterious boy who never talked to his best friend and would often disappear for weeks on time.

That was when Percy had started his rants on the gods. Whenever Annabeth _would _talk to him, he would go off on her about the gods betraying everyone and everything. Demigods were nothing but tools for the gods. They were used all the time to do the gods "dirty work," when our parents couldn't careless whether their children lived or died.

Annabeth just thought that he was going crazy.

Then Luke came. When was just fourteen when he came, Annabeth twelve. They went on the quest to retrieve the lightning bolt. And when they got back, Percy betrayed them. Trying to kill Luke and the whole camp.

That's when Annabeth vowed that if she ever got to see Perseus Jackson again, she would kill him. She saw him a couple times after that. But every time she saw him, she couldn't work up the nerve to kill him. When she saw him she saw the small, skinny, lonely boy that had travel the United Sates with her when they were seven. She couldn't do it.

Then they got older and the Titian War started. They were fighting in New York. And Percy was completely taken over by Kronos's spirit. His once green eyes had turned the color of gold.

She doesn't want to say that she was almost happy when he'd killed himself in the Throne room of Olympus. She was the one that convinced him to do it. When he was dying he asked his she loved him. She almost said yes, because why else would she not kill him after all the horrible thing that Percy had done? Instead her voice would catch and she'd have a strange urge to cry. She settled on calling him her brother. That's what he was, her brother.

Annabeth said that when he was dying, when she thought that she'd never see him again. Her words would never matter. But now, she's staring at him. His green eyes just a little darker than a pine trees needles. She regretted the horrible thoughts that she'd had ever since he got here. She didn't want to kill him, he already did that himself. She just hoped that he wouldn't hold her words to her.

"Luke?" Percy asked, looking at the guy sitting next to him.

Luke didn't look like Annabeth's Luke. His scar was something that she'd never seen before. He was more timid than her Luke, too. Often sitting with his back straight, his arms clenched, and his jaw set. Like he was ready to punch anyone and run.

"What's your Annabeth like?"

Annabeth felt bile clogging her throat, for some reason she felt like Percy was asking about her personal info, like what size of shirts she wore.

Luke chuckled, "she's a lot like this one. Maybe a little louder, and not as aggressive. She hurts people with words instead of fists, though she is as capable of doing both if she pleased."

Percy smirked.

"And your Annabeth was the one that is hooked up with the _other_ Percy?"

Annabeth clenched her jaw, she didn't like being talk over like she wasn't there. But she wanted this information just as much as Percy seemed too.

"Yeah," Luke's face darkened a little. "I guess they did. But I wasn't there when it happened."

"Alright," Percy said, then he moved on, his eyes locking with Annabeth's. "Where's our Luke?"

"He disappeared yesterday morning," Annabeth said.

"Just like Percy in the book," Athena observed. Annabeth nodded.

"Okay," Percy said. "That's pretty much all I got."

"Wait," Annabeth said. "You interrupted everyone just to ask stupid questions about the other me, and Luke?"

"Yup, pretty much." Percy laughed, "you were smarter when we were younger."

Annabeth clenched her fists and tried to remember the younger Percy.

"Well," Hephaestus said. "We should get started, before someone kills everyone in this room."

**LEO 5**

**Leo's tour was going great until he learned about the dragon.**

**The archer dude, Will Solace, seemed pretty cool.**

"Thank you," Will said.

**Everything he showed Leo was so amazing, it should've been illegal. Real Greek warships moored at the beach that sometimes had practice fights with flaming arrows and explosives? Sweet!**

"He's going to die in two weeks," Athena predicted.

"Shut up," Hephaestus said over the book.

**Arts & crafts sessions where you could make sculptures with chain saws and blowtorches? Leo was like, _sign me up!_ The woods were stocked with dangerous monsters, and no one should ever go in alone? Nice! **

"These are going to be long chapters," Annabeth grumbled.

**And the camp was overflowing with fine-looking girls. **

"Gross," Rachel gagged.

**Leo didn't quit understand the whole related-to-the-gods business, but he hoped that didn't mean he was cousins with all these ladies.**

"Technically you are," Poseidon smirked.

**That would suck. At the very least, he wanted to check out those underwater girls in the lake again. They were definitely worth drowning for.**

**Will showed him the cabins, the dining pavilion, and the sword arena.**

**"Do I get a sword?" Leo asked.**

"Hopefully not," Athena said.

**Will glanced at him like he found the idea disturbing.**

**"You'll probably make your own, seeing as how you're in Cabin Nine."**

**"Yeah, what's up with that? Vulcan?"**

**"Usually we don't call the gods by their Roman names,"**

"Yeah," Will agreed with himself, "because were Greek!"

**Will said. "the original names are Greek. Your dad is Hephaestus."**

**"Festus?" Leo had heard somebody say that before, but he was still dismayed. "Sounds like the god of cowboys."**

"Disrespectful," Zeus said.

"The boy just says what he thinks," Hephaestus sided. "He doesn't mean anything."

**"_He-_phaestus," Will corrected. "God of blacksmiths and fire."**

**Leo had heard that too, but he was trying not to think about it. The god of fire... seriously? Considering what had happened to his mom, that seemed like a sick joke.**

"Do all these demigods have a depressing hidden past?" Hades asked.

"It's just for the books sake," Athena told him

**"So the flaming hammer over my head," Leo said. "Good thing, or bad thing?"**

**Will took a while to answer.**

"You almost as bad as Annabeth with your hesitations," Clarisse said.

Will pouted.

**"You were claimed almost immediately. That's usually good."**

**"But that Rainbow Pony dude, Butch - he mentioned a curse."**

**"Ah... look, it's nothing. Since Cabin Nine's last head counselor died -"**

The demigods got a depressed look on their faces. Especially Luke and Percy, because they knew that he died trying to destroy their ship.

**"Died? Like painfully?"**

**"I ought to let your bunkmates tell you about it."**

**"Yeah, where _are_ my home dawgs? Shouldn't their sounselor be giving me the VIP tour?"**

"He would," Hephaestus's voice was heavy, "if he could walk."

**"He, um, can't. You'll see why." Will forged ahead before Leo could ask anything else.**

**"Curses and death," Leo said to himself. "This just get's better and better."**

"Tell us about it," Annabeth muttered.

**He was halfway across the green when he spotted his old babysitter.**

"What?" Hephaestus questioned, then hurried to read on.

**And she was _not_ the kind of person he expected to see at a demigod camp.**

**Leo froze in his tracks.**

**"What's wrong?" Will asked.**

**Tia Callida - Auntie Callida. **

Hera paled.

**That's what she'd called herself, but Leo hadn't seen her since he was five years old. She was just standing there, in the shadow of a big white cabin at the end of the green, watching him. She wore her black linen face hadn't changed - leathery skin, piercing dark eyes. Her withered hands were like claws. She looked ancient, but no different than Leo remembered.**

"Gross," Aphrodite wrinkled her nose, "she needs some moisturizer."

**"That old lady..." Leo said. "What's she doing here?"**

**Will tried to follow his gaze. "What old lady?"**

**"Dude, _the _old lady. The one in black. How many old ladies do you see over there?"**

"He's crazy," Percy grumbled.

**Will frowned. "I think you've had a long day, Leo. The Mist could still be playing tricks on your mind. How about we head straight to your cabin now?"**

"He just creeped him out," Apollo sighed.

**Leo wanted to protest, but when he looked back toward the big white cabin, Tia Callida was gone. He was _sure_ she'd been there, almost as if thinking about his mom had summoned Callida back from the past.**

**And that wasn't good, because Tis Callida had tried to kill him. **

"Great," Rachel said, "more stuff that we don't know."

**"Just messing with you, man." Leo pulled some gears and levers from his pockets and started fiddling with them to calm his nerves. He couldn't have everybody at camp thinking he was crazy. At least, not crazier than he really was.**

"Don't worry, they all already know your insane." Clarisse grumbled.

**"Let's go see Cabin Nine," he said. "I'm in the mood for a good curse."**

**From the outside, the Hephaestus cabin looked like an oversized RV with shiny metal walls and metal-slatted windows.**

"It is," Annabeth said, "some Hephaestus kids made the cabin by combining multiple RV's together, and adding a few modifications."

"Sounds better than my cabin," Clarisse said.

**The entrance was like a bank vault door, circular and several feet thick. It opened with lots of brass gears turning and hydraulic pistons blowing smoke.**

**Leo whistled. "They got a steampunk theme going on, huh?"**

Hephaestus laughed, "I guess so."

**Inside, the cabin seemed deserted. Steel bunks were folded against the walls like high-tech Murphy beds. Each had a digital control panel, blinking LED lights, glowing gems, and interlocking gears. Leo figured each camper had his own combination lock to release his bed, and there was probably an alcove behind it with storage, maybe some traps to keep out unwanted visitors. At least, that's the way Leo would've designed it. A fire pole came down from the second floor, even though the cabin didn't appear to _have_ a second floor from the outside. A circular staircase led down into some kind of basement. The walls were lined with every kind of power tool Leo could imagine, plus a huge assortment of knives, swords, and other implements of destruction. A large workbench over flowed with scrap metal - screws, bolts, washers, nails, rivets, and a million other machine parts. Leo had a strong urge to shovel them all into his coat pockets. He loved that kind of stuff. But he'd need a hundred more coats to fit if all.**

"Jeez," Hermes whistled. "He's really observant when it comes to metal."

**Looking around, he could almost imagine he was back in his mom's machine shop. Not the weapons, maybe - but the tools, the pieces of scrap, the smell of grease and metal and hot engines. She would've loved this place.**

Hephaestus looked down sadly.

**He pushed that thought away. He didn't like painful memories. _Keep moving_ - that was his motto. Don't dwell on things. Don't stay in one place too long. It was the only way to stay ahead of the sadness.**

"That's not sad," Rachel muttered.

**He picked a long implement from the wall. "A weed whacker? What's the god of fire want with a weed whacker?"**

**A voice in the shadows said, "You'd be surprised."**

**At the back of the room, one of the bunk beds was occupied. A curtain of dark camouflage material retracted, and Leo could see the guy who'd been invisible a second before. It was hard to tell much about him because he was covered in a body cast. His head was wrapped in gauze except for his face, which was puffy and bruised. He looked like the Pillsbury Doughboy after a beat-down.**

"Pillsbury Doughboy after a beat-down?" Apollo asked, "where does he get this stuff?"

**"I'm Jake mason," the guy said. "I'd shake your hand, but..."**

**"Yeah," Leo said. "Don't get up."**

**The guy cracked a smile, then winced like it hurt to move his face. Leo wondered what had happened to him, but he was afraid to ask.**

**"Welcome to Cabin Nine," Jake said. "Been almost a year since we had any new kids. I'm head counselor for now."**

"He never wanted to be counselor," Annabeth muttered.

**"For now?" Leo asked.**

**Will Solace cleared his throat. "So where is everybody, Jake?"**

**"Down at the forges," Jake said wistfully. "They're working on... you know, that problem."**

**"Oh." Will changed the subject. "So, you got a spare bed for Leo?"**

**Jake studied Leo, sizing him up. "You believe in curses, Leo? Or ghosts?"**

"Didn't he just see one?" Percy asked.

**I just saw my evil babysitter Tia Callida, Leo thought. She's _got_ to be dead after all these years. And I can't go a day without remembering my mom in that machine shop fire. Don't talk to me about ghosts, doughboy.**

"Leo," Hephaestus sighed.

**But aloud, he said, "Ghosts? Pfft. nah. I'm cool. A storm spirit chucked me down the Grand Canyon this morning, but you know, all in a day's work, right."**

**Jake nodded. "That's good. Because I'll give you the best bed in the cabin - Beckendorf's."**

"He'll take that nicely," Luke grumbled, but he still felt guilt creeping into his chest.

**"Whoa, Jake," Will said. "You sure?"**

**Jake called out: "Bunk 1-A, please."**

**The whole cabin rumbled. A circular section of the floor spiraled open like a camera lens, and full-sized bed popped up.**

"That's awesome!" Travis laughed, "we need a couple of those!"

Hermes shook his head.

**The bronze frame had a built-in game station at the foot board, a stereo system in the headboard, a glass-door refrigerator mounted into the base, and a whole bunch of control panels running down the side.**

"The whole camp need those!" Clarisse was in on it now, "that would be so awesome!"

**Leo jumped right in and lay back with arms behind his head. "I can handle this."**

"Everyone could handle that," Will grumbled.

**"It retracts into a private room below," Jake said. **

**"Oh, heck, yes," Leo said. "See y'all. I'll be down in the Leo Cave. Which button do I press?"**

"I'm going to kill myself," Conner said. "Just reading this makes our cabin seem like prison."

**"Hold on," Will Solace protested. "You guys have private underground rooms?"**

**Jake probably would've smiled if it didn't hurt so much. "We got lots of secrets, Will. You Apollo guys can't have all the fun. Our campers have been excavating the tunnel system under Cabin Nine for almost a century."**

Hephaestus smiled proudly at the achievements his children have done.

**"We still haven't found the end. Anyway, Leo, if you don't mind sleeping in a dead man's bed, it's yours."**

"You didn't have to say that," Hermes said.

**Suddenly Leo didn't feel like kicking back. He sat up, careful not to touch any of the buttons. "The counselor who died - this was his bed?"**

**"Yeah," Jake said. "Charles Bechendorf."**

**Leo imagined saw blades coming through the mattress, or maybe a grenade sewn inside the pillows.**

"A little dramatic." Athena noticed.

**"He didn't, like, die _in_ this bed, did he?"**

**"No," Jake said. "In the Titan War, last summer."**

Perseus and Luke looked at the ground.

**"The Titan War," Leo repeated, "which has _nothing _to do with this very fine bed?"**

"Oh my gods," Rachel groaned.

**"The Titans," Will said, like Leo was and idiot. "The big powerful guys that riled the world before the gods. They tried to make a comeback last summer. Their leader, Kronos, built a new palace on top of Mount Tam in California. Their armies came to New York and almost destroyed Mount Olympus. A lot of demigods died trying to stop them."**

Percy and Luke squirmed in their chairs.

**"I'm guessing this wasn't on the new?" Leo said.**

**It seemed like a fair question, but Will shook his head in disbelief. "You didn't hear about Mount St. Helens erupting,"**

"Thanks to _your_ son," Zeus said to Poseidon.

"Are you still angry that he didn't want to become immortal?" Poseidon asked, smirking.

"Shut up," Zeus growled.

**"or the freak storms across the country, or the building collapsing in St. Louis?"**

**Leo shrugged. Last summer, he'd been on the run from another foster home. Then a truancy officer caught him in New Mexico, and the court sentenced him to the nearest correctional facility - the Wilderness School. "Guess I was busy."**

"Maybe a little," Annabeth agreed, feeling a little sympathy for the boy.

**"Doesn't matter," Jake said. "You were lucky to miss it. The thing is, Beckendorf was one of the first casualties, and ever since then -"**

**"Your cabin's been cursed," Leo guessed.**

**Jake didn't answer. Leo started noticing little things that he hadn't seen before - an explosion mark on the wall, a stain on the floor that might've been oil... or blood. Broken swords and smashed machines kicked into the corners of the room, maybe out of frustration. The place _did_ feel unlucky.**

"It didn't used to be that way," Hephaestus sighed.

**Jake sighed half heartedly. "Well, I should get some sleep. I hope you like it here, Leo. It used to be... really nice."**

**He closed his eyes, and the camouflage curtain drew itself across the bed. **

**"Come on, Leo," Will said. "I'll take you to the forges." As they were leaving, Leo looked back at his new bed, and he could almost imagine a dead counselor sitting there - another ghost who wasn't going to leave Leo alone.**

"That was a depressing chapter," Apollo sighed.

"Who wants to read next?" Hephaestus asked, Hermes sighed and reached for the book.

But before he could started the next chapter a flash of light blinded them. Leaving two more figures standing in the middle of the room.

**END OF LEO 5**


	8. Leo 6

**Everyone is freaking out about who I'm bringing into the story. And you will find out in this chapter but first I wanted to clear some stuff up:**

**1: The first group of demigods (Annabeth, Clarisse, Travis, Conner, Rachel, and Will) were from the "different" reality. The reality where Luke was the hero and Percy was the traitor.**

**2: The Luke I brought is from the original Percy Jackson series. This is the Luke who is a traitor and had tried to kill Percy multiple times. This is why I tried to purposely say that he had the scar. Because the Hero Luke doesn't. Just like the Hero Percy doesn't.**

**3: The Percy that I brought is from the "other" reality. This is the Percy who betrayed the gods. I tried to show that he was the traitor by making a point that he had a scar that looked like Luke's in the original series.**

**4: I am trying to show that Annabeth doesn't trust the two "traitors," by subtle little comments that she will think or say. **

**5: Traitor Percy _is_ different than Hero Percy. He's supposed to have more of a cocky attitude and will prod Annabeth with mean comments when ever he can.**

**6: Traitor Luke _is_ different than Traitor Percy. Luke has more regret and guilt with his choices, when Percy is guilty he mostly only cares about the friends he had killed, otherwise he was proud with his choice and doesn't notice how much he is hated from the Other Demigods. ****Hopefully that will clear some stuff up for you guys and make it a little less confusing.**

**8: Other Annabeth is different that Original Annabeth. Other Annabeth is quieter and less friendly, she get's jealous more often, but will forgive people faster. **

**Hopefully that helps you guys!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

Standing in middle of the room was two demigods that had died in the Titan War.

Beckendorf looked like he never died. Last time that Annabeth saw him he was leaving to go and get Luke to try and blow up Percy's ship. He never got back. Annabeth wished that she could've been a better friend to him, wished that they would've been closer.

Silena looked the same. She was dressed in her Camp Half-Blood T-shirt and jeans. She looked just as beautiful as her mother Aphrodite.

Beckendorf and Selena saw each other. Then they ran to each other, Selena was crying and she wrapped her arms around Beckendorf and kissed him. They looked like they would rather die, again, than every lose each other.

Annabeth felt a pull in her stomach. Like someone had tied a string around her mid section and we tugging on it. She realized it was jealousy. Of what, though? She looked at the couple and felt it again. She was jealous that Silena and Beckendorf. It wasn't far for them to reunite, when Luke and her were apart.

Beckendorf and Silena broke apart. Selena stopped crying, but tears still flooded her eyes. Beckendorf smiled and hugged her closer.

Zeus cleared his throat. Beckendorf took another look at Silena then they realised each other, their hands still clasped together.

"Tell us your names and which reality your from," Zeus commanded.

"What do you mean which reality?" Beckendorf asked.

"Which demigods betrayed us and went to Kronos's side?" Zeus corrected.

"Um, I'm Beckendorf. And... Luke betrayed us."

"I'm Silena, and Luke was the traitor."

"Alright," Hephaestus said. "So they're our kids."

Aphrodite started to cry and she shrank to human size and hugged her daughter.

Hephaestus followed her example and hugged Beckendorf. After reading about how depressing his children are, it felt nice to see Beckendorf after not getting to say goodbye.

Luke stood up. He had a daze in his eyes and his hands were shaking.

"Beckendorf? Silena?"

Silena saw Luke first, she yelped and buried her head in Beckendorf's chest, who protectively wrapped his arms around her.

"Luke?" Beckendorf asked, puzzlement in his eyes.

"Beckendorf -" Luke said, "I-I'm -"

"Shut up, Luke." Beckendorf's voice was harsh and stern, a voice that the demigods have never heard come of Beckendorf. "Don't you _dare_ apologize. You don't have the right."

Silena's eyes were red, but she wasn't crying. She pulled away from Beckendorf and just held onto his hand. Hephaestus and Aphrodite backed away knowing that this was between their children and the traitor.

Luke looked like he was just punched in the chest, and the demigods looked at Beckendorf with their mouths hanging open.

Luke just took one last look at Silena then nodded and sat back down. Resting his head in his hands, he looked like he was crying, but no one tried to comfort him.

Beckendorf grunted, then turned back to the gods.

Hermes looked like he wanted to help his son, but knew that Luke needed to hear that, and Beckendorf had every right to say that to the person who killed him and his girlfriend. Still, it hurt the god.

Beckendorf sighed, "so what's going on? Why are we here?"

Zeus cleared his throat, "we are reading a book about three demigods that come to Camp Half-Blood after the Titan War."

"So we won?" Silena asked, Zeus nodded.

"So far there is this kid, Jason, who can't remember anything from his past." Annabeth said, "Leo, who is super depressed even though he acts like he's the happiest person in the world. Also, he's your brother, Beckendorf. Piper who has Daddy issues, and is probably the daughter of Aphrodite, so your sister Silena. And the alternate version of Perseus is missing."

"What do you mean alternative version?" Beckendorf asked, looking at the Other Percy.

"We are from a different reality where Perseus was the one who went to the Titans side, and Luke stayed behind." Annabeth's voice caught a little when she said Luke's name. "Luke is the only person here from your reality."

"Alright," Silena said, "I guess that makes sense."

"So are we going to start reading, now that we got everyone all caught up?" Poseidon asked.

Hephaestus and Aphrodite turned back to their giganto size and sat in their thrones. Beckendorf and Silena sat next to Travis and Conner.

**LEO 6**

**"How did he die?" Leo asked. "I mean Beckendorf."**

"Great," Beckendorf grumbled, "I got here just in time." Silena squeezed his hand and kissed his cheek.

**Will Solace trudged ahead. "Explosion. Beckendorf and Percy Jackson blew up a cruise ship full of monsters. Beckendorf didn't make it out."**

**There was that name again - Percy Jackson, Annabeth's missing boyfriend.**

"Percy's missing?" Silena asked.

Annabeth nodded.

"Gods, she must be so worried." Silena said, "you aren't with Percy, are you?" She asked Annabeth.

Annabeth blushed then looked over at the Percy from her reality, then shook her head. "No, no. I'm with Luke."

Silena nodded slowly trying to get that through her mind.

**That guy must've been into everything around here, Leo thought.**

"You have no idea," Beckendorf muttered.

"It's not like he had a choice," Poseidon agree.

**"So Beckendorf was pretty popular?" Leo asked. "I mean - before he blew up?"**

**"He was awesome," Will agreed. **

Beckendorf gave a sad smile at Will, who gave the same back. Even though Beckendorf wasn't from his reality, he acted exactly the same as the Beckendorf he knew.

**"It was hard on the whole camp when he died. Jake - he became head counselor in the middle of the war. Same as I did, actually. Jake did his best, but he never wanted to be leader. He just likes building stuff. Then after the war, things started to go wrong. Cabin Nine's chariots blew up. Their automatons went haywire. Their inventions started to malfunction. It was like a curse, and eventually people started calling it that - the Curse of Cabin Nine. Then Jake had his accident -"**

Beckendorf sighed hearing about how bad stuff is going for his siblings, he would give anything to be back with them.

Silena squeezed his hand.

**"Which had something to do with the problem he mentioned," Leo guessed.**

**"They're working on it," Will said without enthusiasm. "And here we are."**

**The forge looked like a steam-powered locomotive had smashed into the Greek Parthenon and they had fused together. White marble columns lined the soot-stained walls. Chimneys pumped smoke over an elaborate gable carved with a bunch of gods and monsters. The building sat at the edge of the a stream, with several waterwheels turning a series of bronze gears. Leo heard machinery grinding inside, fires roaring, and hammers rining on anvils.**

Beckendorf smiled remembering all the good memories that happened there.

**They stepped through the doorway, and a dozen guys and girls who'd been working on carious projects all froze. The noise died down to the roar of the forge and the _click-click-click _of gears and levers.**

"Well," Percy said, "that's awkward."

**"'Sup guys," Will said. "This is your new brother, Leo - um, what's your last name?"**

**"Valdez." Leo looked around at the other campers. Was he really related to all of them?**

"It's a lot to take in," Annabeth looked down at her hands.

**His cousins came from some big families, but he'd always just had his mom - until she died.**

Hermes sighed before continuing to read.

**Kids came up and started shaking hands introducing themselves. Their names blurred together: Shane, Christopher, Nyssa, Harley (yeah, like the motorcycle). Leo knew he'd never keep everybody straight. Too many of them. Too overwhelming.**

"You'll get it," Beckendorf smiled.

**None of them looked like the others - all different face types, skin tone, hair color, height. You'd never think, _Hey, look, it's the Hephaestus bunch! _But they all had powerful hands, rough with callused and stained with engine grease. Even little Harley, who couldn't have been more than eight, looked like he could go six rounds with Chuck Norris without breaking a sweat.**

Hephaestus laughed, "That's egaturading it a little."

**And all the kids shared a sad kind of seriousness. Their shoulders slumped like life had been beaten them don't pretty hard.**

"A war can do that," Silena leaned on Beckendorf.

**Several looked like they'd been physically beaten up, too. Leo counted two arm slings, on pair of crutches, an eyes patch, six Ace bandages, and about seven thousand Band-Aids.**

**"Well, all right!" Leo said. "I hear this is the party cabin!"**

"He's going to get annoying fast," Clarisse grumbled.

**Nobody laughed. They all just started at him.**

"Because it was a stupid joke." Clarisse said.

**Will Solace patted Leo's shoulder. "I'll leave you guys to get acquainted. Somebody show Leo to dinner when it's time?"**

**"I got it," one of the girls said. Nyssa, Leo remembered. She wore camo pants, a tank top that showed off her buff arms, and a red bandanna over a mop of dark hair. Except for the smiley-face Band-Aid on her chin, she looked like one of those female action heroes, like any second she was going to grab a machine gun and start mowing down evil aliens.**

**Nyssa didn't smile. "Come on, joker boy. I'll show you around."**

**Leo was no stranger to workshops. He'd grown up around grease monkeys and power tools. His mouth used to joke his first pacifier was a lug wrench. But he'd never seen any place like the camp forge.**

**One guy was working on a battle-ax. He kept testing the blade on a slab of concrete. Each time he swung, the ax cut into the slab like it was warm cheese, but the guy looked unsatisfied and went back to honing the edge.**

**"What's he planning to kill with that thing?" Leo asked Nyssa. "A battleship?"**

"That would be awesome," Ares said.

**"You never know. Even with Celestial bronze -"**

**"That's the metal?"**

**She nodded. "Mined from Mount Olympus itself. Extremely rare. Anyway, it usually disintegrates monster on contact, but big powerful ones have notoriously tough hides. Drankons, for instances -"**

"I hate those things." Clarisse and Silena said together.

**"You mean dragons?"**

**"Similar species. You'll learn the differences in monster fighting class."**

**"Monster-fighting class. Yeah, I already got my black belt in that."**

"You haven't seen anything," Luke sigh, after finally lifting his head form his hands. His eyes were red, and his scar was even more white against his rosy cheeks.

**She didn't crack a smile. Leo hoped she wasn't this serious all the time. His dad's side of the family had to have _some_ sense of humor, right?**

**they passed a couple of guys making a bronze windup toy. At least that's what it looked like. It was a six-inch-tall centaur - half man, half horse - armed with a miniature bow.**

"Yeah," Will laughed, "he hasn't met Chiron yet."

**One of the campers cranked the centaur's tail, and it whirred to life. It galloped across the table, yelling, "Die, mosquito! Die, mosquito!" and shooting everything in sight.**

"Good idea," Hephaestus commented. "But it wasn't done right."

**Apparently this had happened before, because everybody knew to hit the floor except Leo. Six needle-sized arrows embedded themselves in his shirt before a camper grabbed a hammer and smashed the centaur to pieces.**

Everyone of the demigod boys started laughing, "that's a good one!" Will laughed.

**"Stupid curse!" The camper waved his hammer at the sky. "I just want a magic bug killer! It that too much to ask?"**

"You and every person in Africa," Annabeth grumbled.

**"Ouch," Leo said.**

**Nyssa pulled the needles out of his shirt. "Ah, you're fine. Let's move on before they rebuild it."**

**Leo rubbed his chest as they walked. "That sort of thing happen a lot?"**

**"Lately," Nyssa said, "everything we build turns to junk."**

**"The curse?"**

**Nyssa frowned. "I don't believe in curses. But _something's _wrong. And if we don't figure out the dragon problem, it's gonna get even worse."**

"Is it the dragon me and Percy fond in the woods during capture the flag?" Beckendorf asked aloud.

Silena smiled remembering that day.

**"The dragon problem?" Leo hoped she was talking about a miniature dragon, maybe one that killed cockroaches, but he got the feeling he wasn't going to be so lucky.**

**Nyssa took him over to a big wall map that a couple of girls were studying. The map showed the camp - a semicircle of land with Long Island Sound on the north shore, the woods to the west, the cabins to the east, and a ring of hills to the south.**

**"It's got to be in the hills," the first girl said.**

**"We _looked_ in the hills," the second argued. "The woods are a better hiding place."**

**"But we already set traps -"**

**"Hold up," Leo said. "You guys lost a dragon? A _real_ full sized dragon?"**

"No they were seriously talking about a toy dragon." Clarisse rolled her eyes.

**"It's a bronze dragon," Nyssa said. "But yes, it's a life-size automation. Hephaestus cabin built it years ago. Then it was lost in the woods until a few summers back, when Beckendorf found it in pieces and rebuilt it. It's been helping protect the camp, but, um, it's a little unpredictable."**

"Dude!" Travis said, "you seriously rebuilt a entire dragon?"

"Yeah," Beckendorf said, "didn't your Beckendorf do that?"

Conner frowned, then shook his head. "He didn't ever really _rebuild_ anything, he just made ice cream machines and cool flying couches."

"Sounds cool enough," Beckendorf shrugged.

**"Unpredictable," Leo said.**

**"It goes haywire and smashes down cabins, sets people on fire, tried to eat the satyrs."**

"Yeah, maybe a little unpredictable." Poseidon agreed, nodding his head.

**"That's pretty unpredictable."**

**Nyssa nodded. "Beckendorf was the only one who could control it. Then he died, and the dragon just got worse and control it. Then he died, and the dragon just got worse and worse. Finally it went berserk and ran off. Occasionally it shows up, demolishes something, and runs away again. Everyone expects us to find it and destroy it -"**

**"_Destroy _it?" Leo was appalled. "You've got a life-size bronze dragon, and you want to _destroy_ it?"**

**"It breathes fire," Nyssa explained. "It's deadly and out of control."**

**"But it's a dragon! Dude, that's so awesome. Can't you try talking to it, controlling it?"**

"Yes," Travis said, "we might as well set up a little table and tea cups, and have a little party with the fire breathing killer dragon!"

"Dude," Will said. "I expected that to come out of Clarisse, not you."

Travis shrugged, "I am passionate."

"More like retarded," Clarisse grumbled.

**"We tried. Jake Mason tried. You saw how well that worked."**

Hephaestus winced.

**Leo thought about Jake, wrapped in a body case, lying alone on his bunk. "Still -"**

**"There's no other option." Nyssa turned to the other girls. "Let's try more traps in the woods - here, here, and here. Bait them with thirty-weight motor oil."**

"Gross," Aphrodite said, "that's disgusting."

"Well," Hephaestus said, "What would you drink as a bronze dragon?"

Aphrodite opened her mouth, shivered, then closed it and shrugged. "Guess your right."

**"The dragon drinks that?" Leo asked.**

**"Yeah." Nyssa sighed regretfully. "He used to like it with a little Tabasco sauce, right before bed."**

"That's not weird at all," Percy grumbled.

**"It he spring a trap, we can come in with acid sprayers - should melt through his hide. Then we get metal cutters and... finish the job."**

"That sounds more like a murder, than simply shutting down a machine." Percy grumbled.

"It's more than a machine," Beckendorf said. He understood how this Percy was different than his Percy, he had a rotten attitude and a nasty scar to match. Beckendorf was about ready to punch him in the face just by hearing the sound of his annoying voice. He could understand how the other reality people glared at him whenever he spoke. Percy didn't seem to notice the glares.

**They all looked sad. Leo realized they didn't want to kill the dragon any more than he did.**

**"Guys," he said. "There has to be another way."**

**Nyssa looked doubtful, but a few other campers stopped what they were working on and drifted over to hear the conversation.**

**"Like what?" one asked. "The thing breathes fire. We can't even get close."**

**Fire, Leo thought. Oh, man, the things he could tell them about fire...**

"That sounds strange," Zeus said. He looked over at Hephaestus, "don't tell me he can use fire."

Hephaestus shrugged, not even showing a hint of expression. "I don't remember."

"Ha, yeah right." Zeus grumbled.

**But he had to be careful, even if these were his brothers and sisters. _Especially _if he had to live with them.**

**"Well..." He hesitated. "Hephaestus is the god of fire, right? So don't any of you have like fire resistance or something?"**

Beckendorf laughed, "I wouldn't have gotten blown to pieces if that was true."

Silena looked at him like he was crazy, "don't joke about that."

Beckendorf's eyes softened and he gripped her hand. "I'm sorry," he kissed her cheek.

**Nobody acted as if it was a crazy question, which was a relief, but Nyssa shook her head gravely.**

**"That's a Cyclops ability, Leo. Demigod children of Hephaestus... we're just good with our hands. We're builders, craftsmen, weapon smiths - stuff like that."**

**Leo shoulders slumped. "Oh."**

**A guy in back said, "Well, a long _time _ago -"**

"Please don't bring that up," Beckendorf said.

Annabeth scowled remembering that story that he was talking about.

**"Yeah, okay," Nyssa conceded. "A long time ago some children of Hephaestus were born with power over fire. But that ability was very, very rare. ****And always dangerous. No demigod like that has been born in centuries. The last one..." She looked at one of the other kids for help.**

**"Sixteen sixty-six," the girl offered. "Guy named Thomas Faynor. He started the Great fire of London, destroyed most of the city."**

**"Right," Nyssa said. "When a child of Hephaestus like that appears, it usually means something catastrophic is about to happen. And we don't need any more catastrophes."**

**Leo tried to keep his face clear of emotion, which wasn't his strong suit. "I guess I see your point. Too bad, though. If you could resist flames, you could get close to the dragon."**

**"Then it would kill you with its claws and fangs," Nyssa said. "Or simply step on you. No, we've got to destroy it. trust me, if anyone _could_ figure out another answer..."**

"He's definitely a fire child," Poseidon said. "It's obvious."

"It's strange to hear you so sure of something," Athena said. "Normally your to stupid to see the obvious."

"Shut up."

**She didn't finish, but Leo got the message. this was the cabin's big test. If hey could do something only Beckendorf could do, if they could subdue the dragon without killing it, then maybe their curse would be lifted. But they were stumped for ideas. Any camper who figured out how would be a hero.**

"He's going to go for it," Athena said.

**A conch horn blew in the distance. Campers started putting up their tools and projects. Leo hadn't realized it was getting so late, but he looked through the window and saw the sun going down. His ADHD dad that to him sometimes. If he was bored, a fifty-minute class seemed like a six hours. If he was interested in something, like touring a demigod camp, hours slipped away and _bam_ - the day was over.**

**"Dinner," Nyssa said. "Come on, Leo."**

**"Up at the pavilion, right?" he asked.**

"At least he remember that," Annabeth sighed.

**She nodded. **

**"You guys go ahead," Leo said. "Can you... give me a second?"**

**Nyssa hesitated. then her expression softened. "Sure. It's a lot to process. I remember my first day. Come up when you're ready. Just don't touch anything. Almost every project in here can kill you if you're not careful."**

"Oh yeah, just leave that stuff around to kill everyone," Apollo said.

"Not if your careful," Hephaestus said.

**"No touching," Leo promised.**

**His cabin mates filed out of the forge. Soon Leo was alone with the sounds of the bellows, and the waterwheels, and small machines clicking and whirring.**

**He started at the map of camp - the locations where his newfound siblings were going to put traps to catch a dragon. It was wrong. Plain wrong.**

"Like he could judge," Clarisse grumbled.

**Very rare, he thought. And always dangerous.**

**He held out his hand and studied his fingers. they were long and thin, not callused like the other Hephaestus campers'. Leo had never been the biggest or the strongest kid. He'd survived in though neighborhoods, though schools, though foster homes by using his wits. He was the class clown, the court jester, because he'd learned early that if you cracked jokes and pretended you weren't scared, you usually didn't get beat up.**

"That's really sad," Athena muttered.

"I didn't think you _had _remorse for other people's kids." Poseidon smirked.

"Your a pain, Poseidon."

**Even the baddest gangster kids would tolerate you, keep you around for laughs. Plus, humor was a good way to hide the pain. And if that didn't work, there was always Plan B. Run away. Over and over.**

"Seriously," Apollo added, "there's something eating this kid, from the inside out."

"When did you start to become a shrink?" Artemis asked.

"I can't remember."

**There _was_ a Plan C, but he'd promised himself never to use it again.**

**He felt and urge to try it now - something he hadn't done since the accident, since his mom's death.**

**He extended his fingers and felt them tingle, like they were waking up - pins and needles. Then flames flickered to life, curls of red-hot fire dancing across his palm.**

"You got to be kidding me Dad!" Beckendorf exclaimed, "you give Leo fire but not me?"

Hephaestus laughed, "you got the best of my skills, fire would just be reckless."

"Sure, just let me read next."

Hermes handed the book to Beckendorf.

**END OF LEO 6**


	9. Jason 7

**Sorry it took me so long to update the last chapter. Basketball is almost over, so I will (hopefully) update at least once or twice a week. Normally the chapters will be posted close together, within three days of each other. **

**Keep reviewing! I love reading your feed back!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. Except maybe the Other reality characters, I guess. **

* * *

**JASON 7**

**As soon as Jason saw the house, he knew he was a dead man. **

"So there's Leo, and..?" Beckendorf asked.

"And Jason," Annabeth answered, "the guy with no memory."

"And Piper," Aphrodite added, "your half sister, Silena."

"But she doesn't know that yet," Rachel said.

"Alright, then." Beckendorf mumbled, then continued to read.

**"Here we are!" Drew said cheerfully.**

"Aw gods," Beckendorf scowled, "Drew's showing him around?"

"She's going to be all over him," Silena muttered. "Is she the counselor?"

The demigods nodded. Silena sighed.

**"The Big House, camp headquarters."**

**It didn't look threatening, just a four-story manor painted baby blue with white trim. The wraparound porch had lounge chairs, a card table, and an empty wheelchair. Wind chimes shaped like nymphs turned into trees as the spun. Jason could imagine old people coming here for summer vacation, sitting on the porch and sipping prune juice while they watching the sunset.**

"More like old people sipping Cola," Travis joked.

"Did you just call me old?" Dionysus grumbled.

"Maybe," Travis squeaked.

"He totally did," Conner said.

And in a flash of purple light Travis was turned into a turtle.

"Why a turtle?" Clarisse asked, "why not something like an ant? Something easier to kill?"

Dionysus smiled evilly.

"Don't you dare," Hermes grumbled. "Turn him back, unless you want to stop getting your monthly Grape subscription."

"Fine."

Travis turned back into Travis.

"That was kinda fun!"

"Shut up," Clarisse grumbled.

**Still, the windows seemed to glare down at him like angry eyes. The wide-open doorway looked ready to swallow him. On the highest gable, a bronze eagle weathervane spun in the wind and pointed straight in his direction, as if telling him to turn around.**

"Jeez this guy is paranoid." Apollo sighed, "he needs a vacation."

"He's only paranoid because he's Roman, not Greek." Athena said. "He naturally is threatened by Greeks."

"Wait," Beckendorf stopped them. "So he's Roman? Then who's his godly parent then?"

"Jupiter," Zeus said. "The Roman version of me."

"Cool, another child of the Big Three. This is going to be entertaining."

Hera scowled, but then remembered it was all because of her that any of this story is happening, and she just sat there quietly.

**Every molecule in Jason's body told him he was on enemy ground.**

**"I am _not _supposed to be here," he said.**

**Drew circled her arm through his. "Oh, please. You're _perfect _here, sweetie."**

"It she still saying that?" Silena asked.

"Sadly yes," Annabeth said.

**"Believe me, I've seen a lot of heroes."**

**Drew smelled like Christmas - a strange combination of pine and nutmeg.**

"She did _not _steal my perfume!" Silena glared at the book. "I'll cut all her hair off in her sleep."

**Jason wondered if she always smelled like that, or if it was some kind of special perfume for the holidays.**

"He's thinking about her perfume too much," Annabeth said. "He better not fall for her, I don't want to hear Piper whine the whole book."

Silena and Beckendorf frowned at each other. This didn't sound like their Annabeth, normally she's kind to distressed people, taking pity and acting in kindness. This Annabeth didn't seem to have the patience.

**Her pink eyeliner was really distracting. Every time she blinked, he felt compelled to look at her. Maybe that was the point, to show off her warm brown eyes. She was pretty. No doubt about that. But she made Jason feel uncomfortable.**

**He slipped his arm away as gently as he could. "Look, I appreciate -"**

**"Is it that girl?" Drew pouted. "Oh, please, tell me you are_ not _dating the Dumpster Queen."**

"Gods she's rude!" Rachel said. "Will she just shut up!"

**"You mean, Piper? Um.."**

**Jason wasn't sure how to answer. He didn't think he'd ever seen Piper before today, but he felt strangely guilty about it. He knew he shouldn't be in this place. He shouldn't befriend these people, and certainly he shouldn't date one of them. Still... Piper had been holding his hand when he woke up on that bus. She believed she was his girlfriend. She'd been brave on the skywalk, fighting those venti, and when Jason had caught her midair and they'd held each other face-to-face, he couldn't pretend he wasn't a little tempted to kiss her.**

"Will these two just make out and get over it?" Clarisse grumbled, "They obviously like each other."

**But that wasn't right. He didn't even know his own story. He couldn't play with her emotions like that.**

**Drew rolled her eyes. "Let me help you decide, sweetie. You can do better. A guy with your looks and obvious talent?"**

"Remember how many times she told that to Percy?" Beckendorf asked Silena, Percy looked up when hearing his name.

"She couldn't believe that Percy liked Annabeth, and not her." Silena laughed, "she get's so pissed when they are together."

"So has no shot," Beckendorf laughed.

Annabeth blushed, even after remembering that they weren't talk about _her, _but the _other _Annabeth. She remembered the Percy she saw last night in her dream. He was handsome. His dark hair shaggier and his emerald eyes bright, and... beautiful. She immediately felt guilty for thinking that. She loved Luke, with his blue eyes and sandy hair. She was worried about him. And it didn't help that she kept getting distracted by the gorgeous Other Percy from her dreams.

**She wasn't looking at him, though. She was staring at a spot right above his head.**

**"You're waiting for a sign," He guessed. "Like what popped over Leo's head."**

**"What? No! Well... yes. I mean, from what I heard, you're pretty powerful right? You're going to be important at camp, so I figure your parent will claim you right away. And I'd live to see that. I wanna be with you every step of the way! so is you dad or mom the god? Please tell me it's not your mom. I would hate it if you were and _Aphrodite _kid."**

"Because then she couldn't date him," Rachel laughed. "She has a lot of issues. Sorry." She glanced at Silena and Aphrodite, hoping not to anger them.

"I don't care," Silena smiled at her, "I've lived with her for years and she needs some help."

Aphrodite shrugged, "your probably right."

**"Why?"**

**"Then you'd be my half brother, silly. You can't date somebody from your own cabin. Yuck!"**

**"Bit aren't all the gods related?" Jason asked.**

"Oh, please. Don't make this weirder." Annbaeth sighed and rubbed her temples.

Beckendorf and Silena looked at each other, then at their parents who were married. But didn't even get close to act like it.

**"So isn't everyone here your cousin or something?"**

**"Aren't you cute! Sweetie, the godly side of your family doesn't count except for your parent. So anybody from another cabin - they're fair game. So who's your godly parent - mom or dad?"**

**As usual, Jason didn't have an answer. He looked up, but no glowing sign popped above his head. At the top of the Big House, the weathervane was still pointing his direction, that bronze eagle glaring as if to say, _Turn around, kid, while you still can._**

**Then he heard footsteps on the front porch. No - not footsteps - _hooves._**

"He's gonna freak," Apollo smirked.

**"Chiron!" Drew called. "This is Jason. He's totally awesome!"**

"True," Annabeth agreed. "I thinks that the only time I've ever agreed with Drew."

"Or the first time you've ever agreed with anyone," Conner whispered.

He got punched in the arm.

**Jason backed up so fast he almost tripped. Rounding the corner of the porch was a man on horseback. Except he wasn't on horseback - he was part of the horse.**

"Yeah," Silena said. "It is kinda startling to see Chiron for the first time."

**From the waist up he was human, with curly brown hair and well-trimmed beard. He wore a T-shirt that said _World's Best Centaur, _and had a quiver and bow strapped to his back. His head was so high up he had to duck to avoid the porch lights, because from the waist down, he was a white stallion.**

**Chiron started to smile at Jason. Then the color drained from his face.**

**"You..." The centaur's eyes flared like a cornered animal's. "You should be dead."**

"Ohhh," Conner said, "suspenseful."

"He might be thinking that he's the original Jason." Athena said. "Like the Argo Jason."

**Chiron ordered Jason - well, _invited, _but it sounded like an order - to come inside the house. He told Drew to go back to her cabin, which Drew didn't look happy about.**

**The centaur trotted over to the empty wheelchair on the porch. He slipped off his quiver and bow and backed up to the chair, which opened like a magician's box. Chiron gingerly stepped into it with his back legs and began scrunching himself into a space that should've been much too small. Jason imagined a truck's reversing noises - _beep, beep, beep - _as the centaur's lower half disappeared and the chair folded up,**

"That's a little mean," Hades said.

"Oh my gods!" Demeter yelled, "you are annoying me!"

"I'm always annoying you," Hades said calmly. "So your just going to have to get used to it."

Demeter pouted.

**popping out of a set of fake human legs covered in a blanket, so Chiron appeared to be a regular mortal guy in a wheelchair. **

**"Follow me," he ordered. "We have lemonade."**

"Good job Chiron," Percy laughed, "lemonade makes everything better."

**The living room looked like it had been swallowed by a rain forest. Grapevines curved up the walls and across the ceiling, which Jason found a little strange.**

"It is," Poseidon said. "Dionysus get's pissy, he starts sprouting grapevines from his finger tips."

"Unlike you, who would just drown everyone," Dionysus muttered from his magazine.

**He didn't think plants grew like that inside, especially in the winter, but these were leafy green and bursting with bunches or red grapes.**

**Leather couches faced a stone fireplace with a crackling fire. Wedged in one corner, and old-style Pac-Man arcade game beeped and blinked. Mounted on the walls was an assortment of masks - smiley/frowny Greek theater types, feathered Mardi Gras masks, Venetian _Carnevale _masks with big beaklike noses, carved wooden masks from Africa. Grapevines grew through their mouths so they seemed to have leafy tongues. Some had red grapes bulging through their eyeholes.**

"That's... disturbing." Luke said.

**But the weirdest thing was the stuffed leopard's head above the fireplace. It looked so real, its eyes seemed to follow Jason. Then it snarled, and Jason nearly leaped out of his skin.**

"Aw!" Silena laughed, "it's Seymour! I miss him!"

**"Now, Seymour," Chiron chided. "Jason is a friend. Behave yourself."**

**"That thing is alive!" Jason said.**

"Well, no duh." Travis said.

**Chiron rummaged through the side pocket of his wheelchair and brought out a package of Snausages. He threw one to the leopard, who snapped it up and licked his lips.**

**"You must excuse the décor," Chiron said. "All this was a parting gift from our old director before he was recalled to Mount Olympus. He thought it would help us to remember him. Mr. D has a strange sense of humor."**

"Tell us about it," Zeus grumbled. "We have to deal with him."

**"Mr. D," Jason said. "Dionysus?"**

**"Mmm hmm." Chiron poured lemonade, though his hands were trembling a little. "As for Seymour, well, Mr. D liberated him from a Long Island garage sale. The leopard is Mr. D's sacred animal, you see, and Mr. D was appalled that someone would stuff such a noble creature."**

"It is ridiculous."

**"He decided to grant it life, on the assumption that life as a mounted head was better than no life at all. I must say it's a kinder fate than Seymour's previous owner got."**

Dionysus grunted in approval.

**Seymour bared his fangs and sniffed the air, as if hunting for more Snausages. **

**"If he'd only a head," Jason said, "where does the food go when he eats?"**

"Please don't go that far," Aphrodite groaned.

**"Better not to ask," Chiron said. "Please, sit."**

**Jason took some lemonade, though his stomach was fluttering. Chiron sat back in his wheelchair and tried for a smile, but Jason could tell it was forced. The old man's eyes were as deep and dark as wells.**

"He's probably worry about Perseus," Poseidon grumbled to himself.

Annabeth could see the sadness in the God's eyes. It was strange to see his eyes go for a bright happy green, to a dark and curing black.

**"So, Jason," he said, "would you mind telling me - ah - where you're from?"**

**"I wish I knew." Jason told him the whole story, from walking up on the bus to crash-landing at Camp Half-Blood. he didn't see any point in hiding the details, and Chiron was a good listener. He didn't react to the story, other than to nod encouragingly for more.**

**When Jason was done, the old man sipped his lemonade. **

**"I see," Chiron said. "And you must have questions for me." **

**"Only one," Jason admitted. "What did you mean when you said that I should be dead?"**

"Yes," Percy muttered, "that's kinda what everyone is wondering."

**Chiron studied him with concern, as if he expected Jason to burst into flames. "My boy, do you know what those marks on your arm mean? The color of your shirt? Do you remember anything?"**

**Jason looked at the tattoo on his forearm: SPQR, the eagle, twelve straight lines.**

**"No," he said. "Nothing."**

**"Do you know where you are?" Chiron asked. "Do you understand what this place is, and who I am?"**

**"You're Chiron the centaur," Jason said. "I'm guessing you're the same one from the old stories, who used to train the greek heroes like Heracles. This is a camp for demigods, children of the Olympian gods."**

"That much should be obvious by now," said Hera.

**"So you believe those gods still exist?"**

**"Yes," Jason said immediately. "I mean, I don't think we should _worship _them or sacrifice chickens to them or anything,"**

"Aw," Hermes said, "that would be entertaining."

"More like inhuman," Athena sighed.

**"but they're still around because they're a powerful part of civilization. They move from country to country as the center of power shifts - like they moved from Ancient Greece to Rome."**

_**"I couldn't have said it better." **_**Something about Chiron's voice had changed.**_** "So you already know the gods are real. You have already been claimed, haven't you?"**_

_**"Maybe," **_**Jason answered.**_** "I'm not really sure."**_

"That was strange," Hades grumbled.

**Seymour the leopard snarled.**

**Chiron waited, and Jason realized what had just happened. The centaur had switched to another language and Jason had understood, automatically answering in the same tongue.**

_**"Quis erat -"**_**Jason flatured, then made a conscious effort to speak English. "What was that?"**

"Latin," Athena said. "That's normal that he could take to it so easily. He is Roman."

**"You know Latin," Chiron observed. "Most demigods recognize a few phrases, of course. It's in their blood, but not as must as Ancient Greek. None can speak Latin fluently without practice."**

**Jason tried to wrap his mind around what that meant, but too many pieces were missing from his memory. He still had the feeling that he shouldn't be here. It was wrong - and dangerous. But at least Chiron wasn't threatening. In fact the centaur seemed concerned for him, afraid for his safety.**

**The fire reflected in Chiron's eyes, making them dance fretfully. "I taught your namesake, you know, the original Jason. He had a hard path. I've seen many heroes come and go. Occasionally, they have happy endings. Mostly, they don't. It breaks my heart, like losing a child each time one of my pupils dies."**

"It get's hard," Poseidon agreed.

**"But you - you are not like any pupil I've ever taught. Your presence here could be a disaster."**

**"Thanks," Jason said. "You must be an inspiring teacher."**

** "I am sorry, my boy. But it's true. I had hoped that after Percy's success -"**

"I'm started to understand Leo's annoyment with that name." Percy said. "He is so highly praised -"

"That you jealous," Annabeth said. "You wanted that fame, after you destroyed Olympus. When you could've gotten that fame just by being the opposite version of yourself."

Percy's cheeks turned red, and his fists clenched. "I should kill you for saying such a thing!"

"Quiet!" Zeus ordered, "there will be no killing."

"Tell her to shut up!" Percy stood up and had grabbed his sword, it's glowing blade was pointed in the direction of Annabeth, who sat there staring him down like a wolf.

"Just because she's right doesn't mean you get to kill her," Athena said.

"Now sit down, before I make you." Poseidon said. His voice was like steel, hard and cold.

For the past day, Annabeth had trouble understanding how Poseidon could control the seas. The water was powerful, cruel, and yet beautiful. All at the same time. Before, Poseidon was calm, kind, and the nice version of the ocean. Now, his eyes were terrifying, and power radiated off of him. He was powerful, and angry.

"You are no son of mine," he growled. "Now take a seat before I make you no longer exist."

Percy stood there with his mouth open. He never spoke to his father for very long. Always the same disappointing look, but this Poseidon was kinder than his father. He looked at him with a mixture of pride and confusion. Probably trying to decide if Percy was like the Hero Percy. Now he knew that he wasn't, and he wasn't going to have a loser speak to anyone like that.

Percy sat down. Taking deep breaths to try and control his anger.

"Continue," Poseidon waved at Beckendorf.

**"Percy Jackson, you mean. Annabeth's boyfriend, the one who's missing."**

**Chrion nodded. "I hoped that after he succeeded in the Titan War and saved Mount Olympus, we might have some peace. I might be able to enjoy one final triumph, a happy ending, and perhaps retire quietly. I should have known better. The last chapter approaches, just as it did before. The worst is yet to come."**

"Gods," Beckendorf said, "Percy, you better be alive."

Poseidon sighed.

**In the corner, the arcade game made a sad _pew - pew - pew - pew _sound, like a Pac-Mac had just died. **

**"Ohh-key," Jason said. "So - last chapter, happened before, worst yet to come. Sounds fun, but can we go back to the part where I'm supposed to be dead? I don't like that part."**

**"I'm afraid I can't explain, my boy. I swore on the River Styx and on all things sacred that I would never..." Chiron frowned. "But you're here, in violation of the same oath. That too, should not be possible. I don't understand. Who would've done such a thing? Who -"**

**Seymour the leopard howled. His mouth froze, half open. The arcade game stopped beeping. The fire stopped crackling, its flames hardening like red glass. The masks stared down silently at Jason with their grotesque grade eyes and leafy tongues.**

"What's going on?" Silena whispered.

**"Chiron?" Jason asked. "What's going -"**

**The old centaur had frozen, too. Jason jumped off the couch, but Chiron kept staring at the same spot, his mouth open mid-sentence. His eyes didn't blink. His chest didn't move.**

"So everyone is frozen?" Travis wondered.

_**Jason, **_**a voice said.**

**For a horrible moment, he thought the leopard had spoken. Then dark mist boiled out of Seymour's mouth, and an even worse thought occurred to Jason: _storm spirits._**

**He grabbed the golden coin from his pocket. With a quick flip, it changed into a sword.**

**The mist took the form of a woman in black robes. Her face was hooded, but her eyes glowed in the darkness. Over her shoulders she wore a goatskin cloak. Jason wasn't sure how he knew it was goatskin, but he recognized it and knew it was important.**

The gods looked at each other, "is it her?" Athena wondered aloud.

_**Would you attack your patron? **_**the woman chided. Her voice echoed in Jason's head. _Lower your sword._**

**"Who are you?" He demanded. "How did you -"**

_**Our time is limited, Jason. My prison grows stronger by the hour. It took me a full month to father enough energy to work even the smallest magic through its bonds. I've managed to bring you here, but now I have little time left, and even less power. This may be the last time I can speak to you.**_

**"You're in prison?" Jason decided maybe he wouldn't lower his sword. "Look, I don't know you, and your not my patron."**

_**You know me, **_**she insisted.**_** I have known you since your birth.**_

**"I don't remember. I don't remember anything."**

_**No, you don't, **_**she agreed**_**. That also was necessary. Long ago, your father gave me your life as a gift to placate my anger.**_

"Your welcome," Zeus said to Hera.

"How'd you know it was me?" Hera asked.

"Please," he smirked. "I know you."

_**He named you Jason, after my favorite mortal. You belong to me.**_

"Seriously Hera?" Travis said, "that's a little creepy."

**"Whoa," Jason said. "I don't belong to anyone."**

_**Now is the time to pay your debt, **_**she said. _Find my prison. Free me, or their king will rise from the earth, and I will be destroyed. You will never retrieve your memory._**

"Threatening people now, huh?" Ares said to Hera. "Maybe I'm influencing you more than I thought."

"Shut up."

"Yeah, she's right." Artemis smirked, "she's just been a pain her whole life."

"You two are horrible children."

"Love you too Mom."

**"Is that a threat? You _took _my memories?"**

_**You have until sunset on the solstice, Jason. Four short days. Do not fail me.**_

"Wow," Luke grumbled, sounding depressed. "You really give them a heads up."

"Yeah," Clarisse said. "Why is it you give us like no advanced warning to start the quest earlier? It's always: one week, four days, nine hours. It's ridiculous."

Zeus shrugged, "it's more entertaining this way."

"And it's more likely that they'll fail and the world will be destroyed." Percy added, smirking at the gods.

**The dark woman dissolved, and the mirk curled into the leopard's mouth.**

**Time unfroze. Seymour's howl turned into a couch like he'd sucked in a hairball. The fire crackled to life, the arcade machine beeped, and Chiron said, "- would dare to bring you here?"**

"Hera."

**"Probably the lady in the mist," Jason offered.**

**Chiron looked up in surprise. "Weren't you just sitting... why do you have a sword drawn?"**

**"I hate to tell you this," Jason said, "but I think your leopard just ate a goddess."**

**He told Chiron about the frozen-in-time visit, the dark misty figure that disappeared into Seymour's mouth.**

**"Oh, dear," Chiron murmured. "That does explain a lot." **

**"Then why don't you explain a lot to me?" Jason said. "Please."**

**Before Chiron could say anything,**

"The whole world exploded and everyone died," Travis said. "The End."

"No," Beckendorf said.

**footsteps reverberated on the porch outside. The front door blew open, and Annabeth and another girl, a redhead, burst in, dragging Piper between them. Piper's head was lolled like she was unconscious.**

**"What happened?" Jason rushed over. "What's wrong with her?"**

**"Hera's cabin," Annabeth gasped, like they'd run all the way. "Vision. Bad."**

**The redheaded girl looked up, and Jason saw that she'd been crying. **

**"I think.." the redheaded girl gulped. "I think I may have killed her."**

"You didn't kill her," Annabeth said to Rachel. "You didn't do enough to kill her."

"Don't talk to me," Rachel defended, "talk to the Other Rachel."

"Who's reading next?" Beckendorf asked.

"I guess I will," Percy said. "It might keep me from getting murdered by my father."

**END OF JASON 7**


	10. Jason 8

**For anyone who's confused, the people that are supposed to be dead were, like, taken right from their time of death, but without looking like they were dying. Make sense? Probably not. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

** JASON 8**

**Jason and the redhead, who introduced herself as Rachel,**

"He better not keep calling me redhead," Rachel grumbled.

"I agree, redhead." Conner snickered while Rachel glared.

**put Piper on the couch while Annabeth rushed down the hall to get a med kit. Piper was still breathing, but she wouldn't wake up. She seemed to be in some kind of coma.**

**"We've got to heal her," Jason insisted.**

"Well, no duh."

**"There's a way, right?"**

**Seeing her so pale, barely breathing, Jason felt a surge of protectiveness. **

"Over a person he met that morning," Percy added.

**Maybe he didn't really know her. Maybe she wasn't his girlfriend. But they'd survived the Grand Canyon together. They'd come all this way. He'd left her side for a little while, and _this _happened.**

"Hey, don't blame it on Annabeth," Silena said.

**Chiron put his hand on her forehead and grimaced. "Her mind is in a fragile state. Rachel, what happened?"**

"She just went all oracle on her," Travis answered.

**"I wish I knew," she said. "As soon as I got to camp, I had a premonition about Hera's cabin. I went inside. Annabeth and Piper came in while I was there. We talked, and then - I just blanked out. Annabeth said I spoke in a different voice."**

**"A prophecy?" Chiron asked.**

**"No. The spirit of Delphi comes from within. I know how that feels. This was like long distance, a power trying to speak through me."**

"That must feel creepy," Silena shivered.

**Annabeth ran in with a leather pouch. She knelt next to Piper. "Chiron, what happened back there - I've never seen anything like it. I've heard Rachel's prophecy voice. This was different. She sounded like an older woman."**

"Older than the spirit of Delphi?" Luke questioned.

**"She grabbed Piper's shoulders and told her -"**

**"To free her from a prison?" Jason guessed.**

"Seriously?" Apollo said to his mother, "it's you, again?"

Hera nodded slowly.

**Annabeth stared at him. "How did you know that?"**

**Chiron made a three-fingered gesture over his heart, like a ward against evil.**

**"Jason, tell them. Annabeth, the medicine bag, please."**

**Chiron trickled drops from a medicine vial into Piper's mouth while Jason explained what had happened when the room froze - the dark misty woman who had claimed to be Jason's patron. **

**When he was done, no one spoke.**

"Well," Rachel said, "what did you expect them to do? Kill themselves or something?"

"That's dark," Percy said.

"Like you should talk you -"

"Give it up, you two." Zeus said. "I really wish I could make them disappear right about now."

**Which made him more anxious.**

**"So does this happen often?" he asked. "Supernatural phone calls from convicts demanding you bust them out of jail?"**

Travis laughed, "he just called you a criminal."

Hera scowled. "I can turn you into something worse than a turtle."

Travis paled.

**"Your patron," Annabeth said. "Not your godly parent?"**

**"No, she said _patron. _She also said my dad had given her my life."**

**Annabeth frowned. "I've never of heard anything like that before. You said the storm spirit on the skywalk - he claimed to be working for some mistress who was giving him orders, right?"**

"So you sent the venti after them?" Zeus asked Hera.

Hera shook her head, "I wouldn't do that. At least, I don't think I'd do that."

**"Could it be this woman you saw, messing with your mind?"**

**"I don't think so," Jason said. "If she were my enemy, why would she be asking for my help? She's imprisoned. She's worried about some enemy getting more powerful. Something about a king rising from the earth on the solstice -"**

"See, not me."

**Annabeth turned to Chiron. "Not Kronos."**

"Oh my god," Annabeth shook her head. "If he was back..."

"You might not win this time," Percy whispered so quietly that only Luke heard. He looked over at him.

This Percy was a pain the neck, compared to the Percy that he knew. Maybe Luke was the traitor, but he wasn't as cruel as Traitor Percy was. He was still on Kronos's side, ignoring the fact that Kronos was just using him.

**"Please tell me it's not that."**

**The centaur looked miserable. He held Piper's wrist, checking her pulse. **

**At last he said, "It is not Kronos. That threat is ended. But..."**

**"But what?" Annabeth asked.**

**Chiron closed the medicine bag. "Piper needs rest. We should discuss this later."**

**"Or now," Jason said. "Sir, Mr. Chiron, you told me the greatest threat was coming. The last chapter. You can't possibly mean something worse than an army of Titans, right?"**

"Holy cow," Apollo said.

"Literally?" Hephaestus asked.

"No, not this time." Apollo said. "What could be stronger than freaken Kronos?"

"The Giants," Athena said. "They're about as bad."

**"Oh," Rachel said in a small voice. "Oh, dear. The woman was Hera. Of course. Her cabin, her voice. She showed herself to Jason at the same moment?"**

**"Hera?" Annabeth's snarl was even fiercer than Seymour's.**

"I should disintegrate her," Hera growled.

"You do own her your life," Athena said in defence of her daughter.

**"_She _took you over? She did this to Piper?"**

**"I think Rachel's right," Jason said. "The woman did seem like a goddess. And she wore this - this goatskin cloak. That's a symbol of Juno, isn't it?"**

**"It is?" Annabeth scowled. "I've never heard that."**

**Chiron nodded reluctantly. "Of Juno, Hera's Roman aspect, the most warlike state. The goatskin cloak was a symbol of the Roman soldier."**

"Soooo," Annabeth thought, "it was Juno who came to Jason, because he's Roman?"

Hera shrugged, "I don't know, I wasn't there."

**"So Hera is imprisoned?" Rachel asked. "Who could do that to the queen of gods?"**

**Annabeth crossed her arms. "Well, whoever they are, maybe we should thank them. If they can shut up Hera -"**

**"Annabeth," Chiron warned, "she is still one of the Olympians. In many ways, she is the glue that holds the gods' family together."**

"Don't remind us," Hades grumbled.

Hera glared at her brother-in-law.

**"If she truly has been imprisoned and is in danger of destruction, this could shake the foundations of the world."**

"Yes," Hera smiled. "The world comes crashing down without me."

"More like we finally get the chance to kill one another," Poseidon smirked.

**"It could unravel the stability of Olympus, which is never great even in the best of times. And if Hera has asked Jason for help -"**

"He's forced to help," Annabeth decided.

**"Fine," Annabeth grumbled. "Well, we know Titans can capture a god, right? Atlas captured Artemis a few years ago."**

"Don't remind me."

**"And in the old stories, the gods captured each other in traps all the time. But something worse than a Titan...?"**

**Jason looked at the leopard's head. Seymour was smacking his lips like the goddess had tasted must better tan a Snausage.**

"That's... disturbing," Hera said, wincing.

**"Hera said she'd been trying to break through her prison bonds for a month."**

**"Which is how long Olympus has been closed," Annabeth said. "So the gods must know something bad is going on."**

**"But why use her energy to send me here?" Jason asked. "She wiped my memory, plopped me into the Wilderness School field trip, and sent you a dream vision to come pick me up. Why am I so important? Why not just send an emergency flare to the other gods - let them know where she is so they bust her out?"**

"I have tried doing that in the past," Hera said. "But some idiots don't understand the clues."

"It's not that we don't understand them," Hades smiled. "It's just that we don't care."

"Well you should, because without me the world will end."

"Only because Zeus will be lonely so he will get bored and start shooting lightning at random mortals."

"Shut up both of you," was Zeus's only answer.

**"The gods need heroes to do their will down here on earth," Rachel said. "That's right, isn't it? Their fates are always intertwined with demigods."**

**"That's true," Annabeth said, "but Jason's got a point. Why him? Why take his memory?"**

"That _would _be nice," Clarisse grumbled.

**"And Piper's involved somehow," Rachel said. "Hera sent her the same message - _Free me. _And, Annabeth, this must have something to do with Percy's disappearing."**

"_You _didn't take him," Poseidon questioned Hera, "did you?"

"No, Papa Bear, I didn't." Hera smirked at her remark, Poseidon did the same.

"Just because you don't care for your children, doesn't mean that I'm an overprotective father." Poseidon said.

"Well, it's hard when they're immortal and can't die."

"Yeah," Hephaestus said. "But still doesn't excuse to from throwing me off of Olympus."

Hera didn't answer.

**Annabeth fixed her eyes on Chiron. "Why are you so quiet, Chiron? What is it we're facing."**

**The old centaur's face looked like it had aged ten years in a matter of minutes. The lines around his eyes were deeply etched. "My dear, in this, I cannot help you. I am so sorry."**

"He's never withheld information from me," Annabeth said. "Nothing. Not even anything about the last prophecy. Why, why would he do this now?"

**Annabeth blinked. "You've never... you've _never _kept information from me. Even the last great prophecy -"**

**"I will be in my office." His voice was heavy. "I need some time to think before dinner. Rachel, will you watch the girl? Call Argus to bring her to the infirmary, if you'd like. And Annabeth, you should speak with Jason. Tell him about - about the Greek and Roman gods."**

"Chiron knows," Athena noted.

**"But..."**

**The centaur turned his wheelchair and rolled off down the hallway. Annabeth's eyes turned stormy. She muttered something in Greek, and Jason got the feeling it wasn't complimentary toward centaurs.**

**"I'm sorry," Jason said. "I think my being here - I don't know. I've messed things up coming to the camp, somehow. Chiron said he'd sworn an oath and couldn't talk about it."**

**"What oath?" Annabeth demanded. "I've never seen him act this way. And why would he tell me to talk to you about the gods..."**

**Her voice trailed off. Apparently she'd just noticed Jason's sword sitting on the coffee table. She touched the blade gingerly, like it might be hot.**

**"Is it gold?" she said. "Do you remember where you got it?"**

"Yes," Conner said sarcastically, "he can't remember who he is, but he can remember where he got his weird golden sword."

"Shut up."

Conner laughed.

**"No," Jason said. "Like I said, I don't remember anything." **

**Annabeth nodded, like she'd just come up with a rather desperate plan. "If Chiron won't help, we'll need to figure things out ourselves. Which means... Cabin Fifteen. Rachel, you'll keep an eye on Piper."**

"Why would she go there?" Luke asked.

"You really don't remember anything about the gods who were on your side?" Beckendorf asked.

Luke scowled.

**"Sure," Rachel promised. "Good luck, you two."**

**"Hold on," Jason said. "What's in Cabin Fifteen?"**

**Annabeth stood. "Maybe a way to get your memory back."**

**They headed toward a newer wing of cabins in the southwest corner of the green. Some were fancy, with glowing walls or blazing torches, but Cabin Fifteen was not so dramatic.**

"Duh," Clarisse said. "It's Hypnos's cabin, all those people ever do is sleep!"

**It looked like an old-fashioned prairie house with mud walls and a rush roof. On the door hung a wreath of crimson flowers - red poppies, Jason thought, though he wasn't sure how he knew. **

**"You think this is my parent's cabin?" he asked.**

"Yeah, no." Aphrodite said. She had gotten bored a little while ago, and had started to repaint her nails to look like the colors of the Milky Way galaxy.

**"No," Annabeth said. "This is the cabin for Hypnos, the god of sleep."**

**"Then why -"**

**"You've forgotten everything," she said. "If there's any god who can help us figure out memory loss, it's Hypnos."**

**Inside, even though it was almost dinnertime, three kids were sound asleep under piled of covers. A warm fire crackled in the hearth. Above the mantel hung a tree branch, each twig dripping white liquid into a collection of tin bowls.**

"Beside the fact that a tree branch is dripping white liquid," Percy said, "it's sounds sort of nice."

**Jason was tempted to catch a drop on his finger just to see what it was, but he held himself back.**

"Yes," Demeter said. "That would be a bad idea."

**Soft violin music played from somewhere. The air smelled lie fresh laundry. The cabin was so cozy and peaceful that Jason's eyelids started to feel heavy. A nap sounded like a great idea.**

"Tell me about it," Perseus muttered.

**He was exhausted. There were plenty of empty beds, all with feather pillows and fresh sheets and fluffy quilts and - Annabeth nudged him. "Snap out of it."**

**Jason blinked. He realized his knees had been started to buckle.**

**"Cabin Fifteen does that to everyone," Annabeth warned. "If you ask me, this place is even more dangerous than the Ares cabin."**

Ares laughed, "I highly doubt it."

**"At least with Ares, you can learn where the land mines are."**

"True," Clarisse said. "You have to admit."

**"Land mines?"**

"Jeez, he really is falling asleep."

**She walked up to the nearest snoring kid and shook his shoulder. "Clovis! Wake up!"**

**The kid looked like a baby cow. He had a blond tuft of hair on a wedge-shaped head, with thick features and a thick neck. His body was stocky, but he had spindly little arms like he'd never lifted anything heavier than a pillow.**

**"Clovis!" Annabeth shook harder, then finally knocked on his forehead about six times.**

"I wish I could sleep like that," Rachel sighed. Annabeth nodded in agreement.

**"Wh-wh-what?" Clovis complained, sitting up and squinting. He yawned hugely, and both Annabeth and Jason yawned too.**

Everyone yawned.

**"Stop that!" Annabeth said. "We need your help."**

**"I was sleeping." **

**"You're _always _sleeping."**

**"Good night."**

"Oh, my, god." Silena said. "He's got to be annoying."

**Before he could pass out, Annabeth yanked his pillow off the bed.**

**"That's not fair," Clovis complained meekly. "Give it back."**

**"First help," Annabeth said. "Then sleep."**

**Clovis sighed. His breath smelled like warm milk. "Fine. What?"**

**Annabeth explained about Jason's problem. Every once in a while she'd snap her fingers under Clovis's nose to keep him awake.**

**Clovis must have been really excited, because when Annabeth was done, he didn't pass out. He actually stood and stretched, then blinked at Jason. "So you don't remember anything, huh?"**

"He knows a couple words."

**"Just impressions," Jason said. "Feelings, like..."**

**"Yes?" Clovis said.**

**"Like I know I shouldn't be here. At this camp. I'm in danger."**

"Seriously." Beckendorf said, "it's not like anyone is going to just randomly come up to him a kill him."

**"Hmm. Close your eyes."**

**Jason glanced at Annabeth, but she nodded reassuringly. **

**Jason was afraid he'd end up snoring in one of the bunks forever, but he closed his eyes. His thoughts became murky, as if he were sinking into a dark lake. **

"Just listening to him makes me sleepy," Travis yawned while Conner started to snore on his shoulder.

"At least that'll shut them up a couple chapters," Rachel whispered to Annabeth.

**The next thing he knew, his eyes snapped open. He was sitting in a chair by the fire. Clovis and Annabeth knelt next to him .**

**" - serious, all right," Clovis was saying.**

**"What happened?" Jason said. "How long -"**

**"Just a few minuets," Annabeth said. "But it was tense. You almost dissolved."**

**Jason hoped she didn't mean _literally, _but her expression was solemn. **

**"Usually," Clovis said, "memories are lost for a good reason. They sink under the surface like dreams, and with a good sleep, I can bring them back. But this..."**

"That would be too easy," Athena said. "Hera would take extra, extra measures to hide the memories. She wouldn't let her whole plan blow up because a Hypnos kid made Jason take a nap."

**"Lethe?" Annabeth asked.**

**"No," Clovis said. "Not even Lethe."**

**"Lethe?" Jason asked.**

**Clovis pointed to the tree branch dripping milky drops above the fireplace. **

"The River Lethe in the Underworld," Annabeth said.

**"The River Lethe in the Underworld. It dissolves your memories, wipes your mind clean permanently. That's the branch of a poplar tree from the Underworld, dipper into the Lethe. It's the symbol of my father, Hypnos. Lethe is not a place you want to go swimming."**

"Yeah," Poseidon said. "Swimming. Not smart."

"I don't think I've ever heard you say there was a place _not _to go swimming?" Athena asked him.

"No," Poseidon thought, "last week I said that you shouldn't swim in the sewer, or in toxic waste."

"Hah," she laughed. "It's still hard to believe."

**Annabeth nodded. "Percy went there once."**

"Oh, gods." Percy grumbled.

"I don't like to remember this," Poseidon scowled.

**"He told me it was powerful enough to wipe the mind of a Titan."**

**Jason was suddenly glad he hadn't touched the branch. "But... that's not my problem?"**

"Why is that a question?" Beckendorf asked, rereading the sentence.

**"No," Clovis agreed. "Your mind wasn't wiped, and your memories weren't buried. They've been stolen."**

"Stolen is a big word," Hera sighed.

**The fire crackled. Drops of Lethe water plunked into the tin cups on the mantel. One of the other Hypnos campers muttered in his sleep - something about a duck.**

"That's not surprising."

**"Stolen," Jason said. "How?"**

**"A god," Clovis said. "Only a god would have that kind of power."**

**"We know that," said Jason. "It was Juno. But how did she do it, and why?"**

**Clovis scratched his neck. "Juno?"**

**"He means Hera," Annabeth said. "For some reason, Jason likes the Roman names."**

**"Hmm," Clovis said. **

**"What?" Jason asked. "Does that mean something?"**

**"Hmm," Clovis said again, and this time Jason realized he was snoring.**

**"Clovis!" he yelled.**

**"What? What?" His eyes fluttered open. "We were talking about pillows, right?"**

The Stoll brothers started to snore.

**"No, gods. I remember. Greek and Roman. Sure, could be important."**

**"But they're the same gods," Annabeth said. "Just different names."**

**"Not exactly," Clovis said.**

"They also have different personalities," Athena said.

**Jason sat forward, not very much awake. "What do you mean, not exactly?"**

**"Well.." Clovis yawned. "Some gods are only Roman. Like Janus, or Pompona. But even the major Greek gods - it's not just their names that changed when they moved to Rome. Their appearances changed. Their attributes changed. They even had slightly different personalities."**

**"But..." Annabeth faltered. "Okay, so maybe people saw them differently through the centuries. That doesn't change who they are."**

"As much as we wish it didn't, it does." Athena said.

**"Sure it does." Clovis began to nod off, and Jason snapped his fingers under his nose.**

**"Coming, Mother!" he yelped.**

Travis jerked his head up, "what?"

"Nothing," Percy grumbled. "Go back to sleep."

"Okay..." Travis muttered then closed his eyes again.

**"I mean... Yeah, I'm awake. So, um, personalities. The gods change to reflect their host cultures. You know that, Annabeth. I mean, these days, Zeus likes tailored suits, reality television, and that Chinese food place on East Twenty-eight Street, right?"**

"He does love his Chinese food," Hera smiled.

Zeus grumbled in agreement.

**"It was the same in Roman times, and the gods were Roman almost as long as they were Greek. It was a big empire, lasted for centuries. So of course their Roman aspects are still a big part of their character."**

**"Makes sense," Jason said.**

**Annabeth shook her head, mystified. "But how do you know all this, Clovis?"**

**"Oh, I spend a lot of time dreaming. I see the gods there all the time - always shifting forms. Dreams are fluid, you know. You can be in different places at once, always changing identities. It's a lot like being a god, actually. Like recently, I dreamed I was watching a Michael Jackson concert, and then I was onstage _with _Michael Jackson, and we were singing this duet, and I could _not _remember the words for 'The Girl Is Mine.' Oh, man, it was so embarrassing, I -"**

"Some one please shut him up," Ares groaned.

**"Clovis," Annabeth interrupted. "Back to Rome?"**

**"Right, Rome," Clovis said. "So we call the gods by their Greek names because that's their original form. But saying their Roman aspects are exactly the same - that's not true. In Rome, they became more warlike."**

Hermes groaned holding his head, "this is starting to hurt."

**"They didn't mingle with mortals as much. They were harsher, more powerful - the gods of an empire."**

"I don't like being Minerva," Athena said. "I have a _much _clearer head in this form."

**"Like the dark side of the gods?" Annabeth asked.**

**"Not exactly," Clovis said. "They stood for discipline, honor, strength -"**

"And we don't?" Artemis questioned.

"Apparently not," Poseidon scowled. "And were not _as_ powerful as Romans either."

**"Good things, then," Jason said. For some reason, he felt the need to speak up for the Roman gods, thought wasn't sure why it mattered to him. "I mean, discipline is important, right? That's what made Rome last so long."**

"And have so many enemies," Annabeth added.

**Clovis gave him a curious look. "That's true. But the Roman gods weren't very friendly. For instance, my dad, Hypnos... he didn't do much except sleep in Greek times."**

"That's still all he does," Zeus said, "what do you mean 'Greek times?'

**"In Roman times, they called him Somnus. He liked killing people who didn't stay alert at their jobs. If they nodded off at the wrong time, _boom _- they never woke up."**

"That's gotta be hard," Beckendorf said, "Considering Travis and Conner couldn't even stay awake reading about the guy, let alone working for him. They'd be dead."

"They'd be dead, anyways," Clarisse said.

**"He killed the helmsman of Aeneas when they were sailing from Troy."**

"Ohh," Apollo grimaced, "I remember that one."

**"Nice guy," Annabeth said. "But I still don't understand what it has to do with Jason."**

**"Neither do I," Clovis said. "But if Hera took your memories, only she can give it back. And if I had to meet the queen of the gods, I'd hope she was more in a Hera mood than a Juno mood. Can I go back to sleep now?"**

"So which are you?" Apollo asked Hera.

"What?"

"Are you more Juno or Hera right now?"

"Juno, defiantly Juno."

"Oh. That's - that's cool."

**Annabeth started at the branch above the fire, dripping Lethe water into the cups. She looked so worried, Jason wondered is she was considering a drink to forget her troubles.**

"She wouldn't do that," Silena said. "Would she?"

**Then she stood and tossed Clovis a pillow. "Thanks, Clovis. We'll see you at dinner."**

**"Can I get room service?" Clovers yawned and stumbled to his bunk. "I feel like...zzz..." he collapsed with his butt in the air and his face buried in a pillow.**

**"Won't he suffocate?" Jason asked.**

"Naw," Will smiled. "He'll be fine."

**"He'll be fine," Annabeth said. "But I'm beginning to think that you are in serious trouble."**

"Hasn't that been the whole plot of this entire book, so far?" Apollo thought allowed.

"That's the end of the chapter," Percy sighed and raised the book, "who wants to read next?"

"I guess I will," Rachel said. "I almost fell asleep."

**END OF JASON 8**


	11. Piper 9

**Basketball season is already almost over. I just have one last game on Tuesday. Then I am free to sleep and write! It might make updates a little quicker, but I feel like I will be updating about the same time as I am now. **

**Hope you guys are still enjoying it. I'm open for any comments, for anything you want to see in the story. It'll be a sort of contest. Your job (if you want) will to tell me the scene you want to see in the story. Like having a fight between Traitor Luke and Traitor Percy, or even having a different character. Like gender swap Percy or something. **

**But I won't be bringing in any characters from the original series in anytime soon. I want to keep those characters... on reserve. If you will.**

**So send me your ideas, I will only pick one. You can review and tell me them, or you can private message me, which I will answer WAY faster.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

** PIPER 9**

"Great," Percy grumbled. "It's her again."

**Piper dreamed about her last day with her dad.**

Aphrodite sighed.

**They were on the beach near Big Sur, taking a break from surfing. The morning had been so perfect, Piper knew something had to go wrong soon - a rabid horde of paparazzi, or maybe a great white shark attack.**

"Why would paparazzi come?" Annabeth wondered to herself.

"She's being a little dramatic with the great white shark." Aphrodite sighed again.

**No way her luck could hold.**

**But so far, they'd had excellent waves, an overcast sky, and a mile of oceanfront completely to themselves. Dad had found this out-of-the-way spot, rented a beachfront villa _and _the properties on either side, and somehow managed to keep it a secret. If he stayed there too long, Piper knew the photographers would find him. They always did.**

"Will she just tell us who her dad is already," Beckendorf whispered.

**"Nice job out there, Pipes." He gave her the smile he was famous for: perfect teeth, dimpled chin, a twinkle in his dark eyes that always made grown women scream and ask him to sign their bodies in permanent marker. (_Seriously, _Piper thought, _get a life.)_**

"Gods," Aphrodite gave a half-hearted giggle. "He is _gorgeous_!"

Artemis rolled her eyes, and was thankful she stayed away from men.

**His close-cropped black hair gleamed with salt water. "You're getting better at hanging ten."**

**Piper flushed with pride, though she suspected Dad was just being nice. She still spent most of her time wiping out. It took special talent to run over yourself with a surfboard. Her _dad_ was the natural surfer - which made no sense since he'd been raised a poor kid in Oklahoma, hundreds of miles from the ocean - but he was amazing on the curls. Piper would've given up surfing long time ago except it let her spend time with him. There weren't many ways she could do that.**

"Percy's a okay surfer," Beckendorf said. "Last summer, after the Battle of the Labyrinth, we went surfing."

"Yeah," Silena said. "I remember that."

"He'd never surfed before," Beckendorf continued, "but he could kinda control the water which made surfing easy to him."

"Almost easier than walking." Silena finished. "He was awesome on that thing."

**"Sandwich?" Dad dug into the picnic basket his chef, Arno, had made. "Let's see: turkey pesto, crabcake wasabi - ah, a Piper special. Peanut butter and jelly."**

Poseidon wrinkled his nose, "'Crabcake wasabi?' What kind of person would eat such a thing?"

"A normal person," Apollo snickered.

"What?" Poseidon smirked, "you wouldn't eat one of your 'Holy Cows?' Now would you?"

Apollo paled, "I'm sorry for making fun of you."

Poseidon laughed.

**She took the sandwich, though her stomach was too upset to eat. She always asked for PB&J. Piper was vegetarian, for one thing. She had been ever since they'd driven past that slaughterhouse in Chino and the smell had made her insides want to come outside.**

"How could you not like meat?" Ares said.

"She's crazy," Clarisse agreed.

**But it was more than that. PB&J was simple food, like a regular kid would have for lunch. Sometimes she pretended her dad had actually made it for her, not a personal chef from France who liked to wrap the sandwich in gold leaf paper with a light-up sparkler instead of a toothpick.**

**Couldn't anything be simple? That's why she turned down the fancy clothes. Dad always offered, the designer shoes, the trips to the salon. She cut her own hair with a pair of plastic Garfield safety scissors, deliberately making it uneven. She preferred to wear beat-up running shoes, jeans, a T-shirt, and her old Polartec jacket from the time they went snowboarding.**

"Wow," Silena said. "I's give anything to have _that _kind of money."

**And she hated the snobby private schools Dad thought were good for her. She kept getting herself kicked out. He kept finding more schools.**

"Yeah," Silena said. "Private schools do suck sometimes."

**Yesterday, she'd pulled her biggest heist yet - driving that "borrowed" BMW out of the dealership.**

"Is she admitting that she stole it?" Hermes asked.

**She _had _to pull a bigger stunt each time, because it took more and more to get Dad's attention.**

**Now she regretted it. Dad didn't know yet.**

**She'd mean to tell him that morning. Then he'd surprised her with this trip, and she couldn't ruin it. It was the first time they'd had a day together in what - three months?**

**"What's wrong?" He passed her a soda.**

**"Dad, there's something -"**

**"Hold on, Pipes. That's a serious face. ready for Any Three Questions?"**

"Did they take that game _seriously_?" Annabeth said.

**They'd been playing that game for years - her dad's way of staying connected in the shortest possible amount of time. They could ask each other any three questions. Nothing off limits, and you had to answer honestly. The rest of the time, Dad promised to stay out of her business - which was easy, since he was never around.**

**Piper knew most kids would find a Q&A like this with their parent totally mortifying. But she looked forward to it. It was like surfing - not easy, but a way to feel like she actually had a father.**

"That's sad," Athena said.

**"First question," she said. "Mom."**

Aphrodite smiled.

**No surprise. That was always one of her topics.**

"It's always one of a demigods topics," Annabeth sighed, remembering all the times she used to ask her father the same thing before she ran away.

**Her dad shrugged with resignation. "What do you want to know, Piper? I've already told you - she disappeared. I don't know why, or where she went. After you were born, she simply left. I never heard from her again."**

"I didn't want to leave," Aphrodite's eyes started to tear up.

**"Do you think she's alive?"**

"I don't know?" Apollo said, then looked to Hermes, "do you?"

"I simply have no idea," Hermes went along. "I wouldn't be surprised if she was though."

"Jerks," Aphrodite muttered.

**It wasn't a real question. Dad was allowed to day he didn't know. But she wanted to hear how he's answer.**

**He stared at the waves.**

**"Your Grandpa Tom," he said at last, "he used to tell me that if you walked far enough toward the sunset, you'd come to Ghost Country, where you could talk to the dead. He said a long time ago, you could bring the dead back; but then mankind messed up. Well, it's a long story."**

"That would be so amazing," Silena said.

"Don't think about it," Beckendorf squeezed her hand.

**"Like the Land of the Dead for the Greeks," Piper remembered. "It was in the west, too. And Orpheus - he tried to being his wife back."**

"He was an idiot," Hades said.

**Dad nodded. A year before, he'd had his biggest role as an Ancient Greek king.**

"Well, that's ironic." Poseidon smirked.

**Piper had helped him research the myths - all those old stories about people getting turned to stone and boiled in lakes of lava. They'd had a fun time reading together, and it made Piper's life seem not so bad.**

"I wish me and my dad did that," Annabeth said.

**For a while she'd felt closer to her dad, but like everything, it didn't last.**

**"Lot of similarities between Greek and Cherokee," Dad agreed. "Wonder what your grandpa would think if he saw us now, sitting at the end of the western land. He'd probably think we're ghosts."**

**"So you're saying you believe those stories? You think Mom is dead?"**

"He probably does," Aphrodite sighed sadly.

**His eyes watered, and Piper saw the sadness behind them. She figured that's why women were so attracted to him. On the surface, he seemed confident and rugged, but his eyes held so much sadness. Women wanted to find out why. They wanted to comfort him, and they never could. Dad told Piper it was a Cherokee thing - they all had that darkness inside them from generations of pain and suffering. But Piper thought it was more than that.**

**"I don't believe in Ghost Country, or animal spirits, or Greek gods..."**

"Wow," Poseidon said, "that's doesn't hurt."

**"I don't think I could sleep at night. I'd always be looking for someone to blame."**

"No..." Aphrodite winced.

**Somebody to blame for Grandpa Tom dying of lung cancer, Piper thought, before Dad got famous and had the money to help. For Mom - the only woman he'd ever loved - abandoning him without even a good-bye note, leaving him with a newborn girl he wasn't ready to care for. For his being so successful, and yet still not happy.**

Aphrodite was slumped in her chair, silently crying into her hands. Athena rubbed her back awkwardly.

**"I don't know if she's alive," he said. "But I do think she might as well be in Ghost Country, Piper. There's no getting her back. If I believed otherwise... I don't think I could stand that, either."**

Silena looked up at her Mother, still crying into her hands, and wondered if she'd ever cried over Silena's father and her like that.

**Behind them, a car door opened. Piper turned, and her heart sank. Jane was marching toward them in her business suit, wobbling over the sand in her high heels, her PDA in hand. The look on her face was partly annoyed, partly triumphant, and Piper prayed. _If there's any animal spirit or Greek god that can help, make Jane take a header. I'm not asked for permanent damage, just knock her out for the rest of the day, please?_**

"I would _so _do that," Apollo laughed, then he popped his knuckles.

"No you don't," Zeus said. "No interfering."

Apollo pouted.

**But Jane kept advancing.**

**"Dad," Piper said quickly. "Something happened yesterday..."**

"Oh," Percy said. "So she _didn't _tell him." Percy said.

**But he'd seen Jane, too. He was already reconstructing his business face. Jane wouldn't be here if it wasn't serious. A studio head called - project fell through - or Piper had messed up again.**

**"We'll get back to that, Pipes," he promised. "I'd better see what Jane wants. You know how she is."**

"He wont even listen to what she says." Athena grumbled.

**Yes - Piper knew. Dad trudged across the sand to meet her. Piper couldn't hear them talking, but she didn't need to. She was good at reading faces. Jane gave him the facts about the stolen car, occasionally pointing at Piper like she was a disgusting pet that had whizzed on the carpet.**

Will laughed, "'whizzed.'"

**Dad's energy and enthusiasm drained away. He gestured for Jane to wait. then he walked back to Piper. She couldn't stand that look in his eyes - like she'd betrayed his trust.**

**"You told me you would try, Piper," he said.**

**"Dad, I hate that school. I can't do I. I wanted to tell you about the BMW, but -"**

**"They've expelled you," he said. "A car, Piper? You're sixteen next year. I would buy you any car you want. How could you -"**

Aphrodite had stopped crying, and now she snickered, "you mean Jane would buy her a car. And one she probably wouldn't even like."

**"You mean _Jane _would buy me a car?" Piper demanded. She couldn't help it. The anger just welled up and spilled out of her. "Dad, just listen for once. Don't make me wait for you to ask your stupid three questions. I want to go to regular school. I want _you _to take me to parents' night, not Jane."**

"Now that's even lower," Beckendorf said.

**"Or home school me! I learned so much when we read about Greece together. We could do that all the time! We could -"**

**"Don't make this about me," her dad said.**

"It is about you," Percy said, "your the reason she's acting out! She just wants you to notice her for once!"

Annabeth noticed that he said it with a lot of anger, like he knew what it felt like. _Which, _she thought, _is normal. He is a demigod, he knows what it feels like to be ignored._

**"I do the best I can, Piper. We've had this conversation."**

_**No, **_**she thought. _You've put off this conversation. For years._**

**Her dad sighed. "Jane's talked to the police, brokered a deal. the dealership won't press charges, but you have to agree to go to a boarding school in Nevada. They specialize in problems... in kids with tough issues."**

**"That's what I am." Her voice trembled. "A problem."**

"Piper..." Aphrodite said sadly. She took a deep breath a tried to keep from crying again.

**"Piper... you said you'd try. You let me down. I don't know what else to do."**

**"Do anything," she said. "But do it yourself! Don't let Jane handle it for you. You can't just send me away."**

**Dad looked down at the picnic basket. His sandwich sat uneaten on a piece of gold leaf paper. They'd planned for a whole afternoon in the surf. Now that was ruined.**

**Piper couldn't believe he'd really give in to Jane's wishes. Not his time. Not on something as huge as boarding school. **

**"Go see her," Dad said. "She's got the details."**

**"Dad..."**

"No wonder she thinks she's going to betray everyone at camp," Annabeth said.

**He looked away, gazing at the ocean like he could see all the way to Ghost Country. Piper promised herself she wouldn't cry. She headed up the beach toward Jane, who smiled coldly and held up a plane ticket. As usual, she'd already arranged everything. Piper was just another problem of the day that Jane could check off her list.**

"I'd like to check _Jane _of _my _list," Aphrodite said.

**Piper's dream changed.**

**She stood on a mountaintop at night, city lights glimmering below. In front of her, a bonfire blazed. Purplish flames seemed to cast more shadows than light, but the heat was so intense her clothes steamed.**

"Okay," Hephaestus frowned, "that would be a _little _intense."

**"This is your second warning," a voice rumbled, so powerful it shook the earth.**

"Hera again?"

**Piper had heard that voice before in her dreams. She'd tried to convince herself in wasn't as scary as she remembered, but it was worse.**

**Behind the bonfire, a huge face loomed out of the darkness. It seemed to float above the flames, but Piper knew it must be connected to an enormous body. The crude features might've been chiseled out of rock. The face hardly seemed alive except for its piercing white eyes, like raw diamonds, and its horrible frame of dreadlocks, braided with human bones.**

"Defiantly Hera," Will laughed. He looked up hoping for approval from his father. But Apollo had turned pale, along with all the other gods.

"This is horrible," Athena said, her grey eyes were stormy, and reminded Annabeth of herself. "The giants can't be coming back, unless -"

Zeus put up a hand to quiet her. "We wont know until the story progresses. Continue, Rachel."

**It smiled, and Piper shivered.**

**"You'll do what you're told," the giant said. "You'll go on the quest. Do our bidding, and you may walk away alive. Otherwise -"**

**He gestured to one side of the fire. Piper's father was hanging unconscious, tied to a stake.**

"Oh, that's what she's freaking out about." said Rachel.

"Understandable." Annabeth said.

**She tried to cry out. She wanted to call to her dad, and demand the giant to let him go, but her voice wouldn't work.**

**"I'll be watching," the giant said. "Serve me, and you both live. You have the word of Enceladus. Fail me... well, I've slept for millennia, young demigods. I am _very _hungry. Fail, and I'll eat well."**

Zeus sighed, "great it's Enceladus."

"He's my fav," Apollo said sadly.

**The giant roared with laughter. The earth trembled. A crevice opened at Piper's feet, and she tumbled into the darkness.**

"This chapter is eventful," Beckendorf observed.

**She woke feeling like she'd been trampled by an Irish stepdancing troupe.**

"I had a dream like that once," Hades said. "It was strange."

"I didn't know you had that much imagination to come up with something so... weird." Demeter observed.

"Hey," Hades defended, "just because I'm cruel doesn't mean I can't have creativity too."

"Sure."

**Her chest hurt, and she could barely breathe. She reached down a closed her hand around the hilt of the dagger Annabeth had given her - Katoptris, Helen of Troy's weapon.**

"Thanks for reminding yourself," Percy muttered.

**So Camp Half-Blood hadn't been a dream.**

**"How are you feeling?" someone asked.**

**Piper tried to focus. She was lying in a bed with a white curtain on one side, like in a nurse's office. That redheaded girl, Rachel Dare, sat next to her. On the wall was a poster of a cartoon satyr who looked disturbingly like Coach Hedge with a thermometer sticking out of his mouth. the caption read: _Don't let sickness get your goat!_**

"Gods," Will shook his head, "we _really _need to take that down."

Annabeth nodded, "and burn it."

**"Where -" Piper's voice died when she saw the guy at the door.**

**He looked like a typical California surfer dude - buff and tan, blond hair, dressed in shorts and a T-shirt. but he had hundred of blue eyes all over his body - along his arms, down his legs, and all over his face. Even his feet had eyes, peering up at her from between the straps of his sandals.**

"Argus does scare people the first time they see him," Annabeth agreed.

**"That's Argus," Rachel said, "our head of security. He's just keeping an eye on things... so to speak."**

**Argus nodded. The eye on his chin winked.**

"Getting hit on by Argus must be disturbing," Hermes laughed at the thought.

**"Where -" Piper tried again, but she felt like she was talking through a mouthful of cotton.**

**"You're in the Big House," Rachel said. "Camp offices. We brought you here when you collapsed."**

**"You grabbed me," Piper remembered. "Hera's voice -"**

**"I'm so sorry about that," Rachel said.**

"Yeah," Beckendorf said, "she didn't mean to make you pass out and go into a short coma."

"Thank you," Rachel said.

**"Believe me, it was _not _my idea to get possessed. Chiron healed you with some nectar -"**

"The doesn't know what that is," Annabeth added.

"I know that _now," _Rachel grumbled.

**"Nectar?"**

**"The drink of the gods. In small amounts, it heals demigods, if it doesn't - ah - burn you to ashes."**

**"Oh. Fun."**

"Tell us about it."

**Rachel sat forward. "do you remember your vision?"**

**Piper had a moment of dread, thinking she mean the dream about the giant. Then she realized Rachel was talking about what happened in Hera's cabin.**

"Great," Apollo sighed, "more paranoid people."

**"Something's wrong with the goddess," Piper said. "She told me to free her, like she's trapped. She mentioned the earth swallowing us, and a fiery one, and something about the solstice."**

**In the corner, Argus made a rumbling sound in his chest. His eyes all fluttered at once.**

"Oh, Agrus," Hera's features softened and her eyes became caring. "I'll be fine, don't worry."

Poseidon grunted, "I think the whole world needs to worry. Because apparently without you the world with explode into a fiery ball, and every mortal will become a zombie and start to eat each other, only to be killed by the horrible fires that will consume the world. So, yeah. he's gonna worry."

Beckendorf and Silena looked at each other.

"He's so much like Percy it's disturbing," Beckendorf said.

**"Hera created Argus," Rachel explained. "He's actually very sensitive when it comes to her safety. We're trying to keep him from crying, because last time that happened... well, it caused quite a flood."**

**Argus sniffled. He grabbed a fistful of Kleenex from the beside table and started dabbing eyes all over his body.**

**"So..." Piper tried not to stare as Argus wiped the tears from his elbows. "What's happened to Hera?"**

"Nothing much."

**"We're not sure," Rachel said. "Annabeth and Jason were here for you, but the way. Jason didn't want to leave you, but Annabeth had an idea - something that might restore his memories."**

**"That's... that's great."**

**Jason had been here for her? She wished she'd been conscious for that. But if he got his memories back, would that be a good thing?**

"She still wants to believe that their relationship was real," Aphrodite muttered.

**She was still holding out hope that they really did know each other. She didn't want their relationship to be just a trick of the Mist.**

**Get over yourself, she thought. If she was going to save her dad, it didn't matter whether Jason liked her or not. He would hate her eventually. Everyone here would.**

"That's... depressing," Apollo muttered.

**She looked down at the ceremonial dagger strapped to her side. Annabeth had said it was a sign of power and status, but not normally used in battle. All show and no substance. A fake, just like Piper. And its name was Katoptris, looking glass. She didn't dare unsheathe it again, because she couldn't bear to see her own reflection.**

"That's deep," Will grumbled.

**"Don't worry." Rachel squeezed her arm. "Jason seems like a good guy. He had a vision too, a lot like yours. Whatever's happening with Hera - I think you two are meant to work together."**

**Rachel smiled like this was good news, but Piper's spirits plunged even further. She'd thought that this quest - whatever it was - would involve nameless people. Now Rachel was basically telling her: _Good news! Not only is your dad being held ransom by a cannibal giant, you also get to betray the guy you like! How awesome is that?_**

"Yeah," Rachel muttered, "that's going to be hard."

**"Hey," Rachel said. "No need to cry. You'll figure it out." **

"Oh great," Percy scowled, "now she's crying."

**Piper wiped her eyes, trying to get control of herself. This wasn't like her. She was supposed to be tough - a hardened car thief, the scourge of L.A. private schools. Here she was, crying like a baby. "How can you know what I'm facing?"**

**Rachel shrugged. "I know it's a hard choice, and your options aren't great. Like I said, I get hunches sometimes. But you're going to be claimed at the campfire. I'm almost sure. When you know who your godly parent is, things might be clearer."**

**Clearer, Piper thought. Not necessarily better.**

**She sat up in bed. Her forehead ached like someone had driven a spike between her eyes. _There's no getting your mother back, _her dad had told her. But apparently, tonight, her mom might claim her. For the first time, Piper wasn't sure she wanted that.**

Aphrodite sighed. Silena remembered how she felt when she fist got to camp, she got claimed the second day. Before then she knew that she was going to be unclaimed forever, she never thought that her mother would want her. Until she was claimed, then she had sisters and brothers. A family, not just her dad anymore. She knew how Piper felt.

**"I hope it's Athena." She looked up, afraid Rachel might make fun of her, but the oracle just smiled.**

"Everyone want to be my daughter," Athena smiled, "but only the best are."

"So your saying my children aren't good enough?" Apollo asked her.

"They're good," Athena said, "they just aren't smart enough."

"Fine, I'll give you that."

**"Piper, I don't blame you. Truthfully? I think Annabeth is hoping that too. You guys are a lot alike."**

"Seriously?" Annabeth raised her eyebrows, "I don't see it."

**The comparison made Piper feel even guiltier. "Another hunch? You don't know anything about me."**

"A little rude?" Hades said.

**"You'd be surprised."**

**"You're just saying that because you're an oracle, aren't you? You're supposed to sound all mysterious."**

"She must be in a _really _bad mood," Beckendorf whistled, "she's going off on Rachel, like no tomorrow!"

**Rachel laughed. "Don't be giving away my secrets, Piper. And don't worry. Things will work out - just maybe not the way you plan."**

**"That's not making me feel better."**

**Somewhere in the distance, a conch horn blew. Argus grumbled and opened the door.**

"So they were prisoners before the horn?" Will asked.

Annabeth shrugged, "maybe."

**"Dinner?" Piper guessed.**

**"You slept through it," Rachel said. "Time for the campfire. Let's go find out who you are."**

"Okay," Rachel closed the book. "Can we have lunch now?"

Zeus nodded, "I think that would be fine. Every one dismissed for lunch. Eat. Then get back here to continue. Everyone head to the dining hall."

Hermes sighed, "can someone wake up Travis and Conner first? I don't want to hear their whining after they find out that we've eaten without them."

**END OF PIPER 9**


	12. Piper 10

**It's seriously getting harder to update. Because my computer is old and it has ****_really _****slow internet, and it's so old that you need to have it pulled into the charger at ****_ALL TIMES. _****So if you unplug it the computer turns off and delete all my unsaved work, and the cord is ****_SUPER _****sensitive. Like if I'm writing on the couch or something, and I shift or cross my legs or something, then it turns off and I loose over half of my work. **

**It's seriously starting to piss me off, so I'm trying to talk my dad into getting me a new one. But until then, you guys will be forced to listen to me complain. Sorry, it's your life, get over it.**

**Oh, and another thing: I reached the two-digit numbers! HA!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

After waking up Travis and Conner, (who complained just as much being woken up, then they would if they missed lunch.) They all headed to the dinning hall, like Zeus "nicely" commanded them to.

The dining hall was just a large room. The walls were marble, and white, just like the rest of Olympus. One large table was set in the middle of the room. There were, at the minimum, fifty chairs and plates set at the table. More than enough for the Olympians and the demigods.

Everyone say next to their parents. This was one of the rare times when they can just hang and be normal with their immortal godly parents. The only people who looked left out was Rachel and Percy. Percy wanted to stay as far away from the Olympians as possible, and was seriously starting to considering eating his lunch in the bathroom. Rachel just sat next to Annabeth, and didn't talk to anyone unless they talk to her.

Percy, after standing there awkwardly for a couple of minuets while everyone else got settled, was finally pulled over by Luke to sit with him.

Luke wasn't sure what to make of the Traitor Perseus. He was _defiantly_ different than Hero Percy. But he was also different Luke. Luke knew that he was a traitor, it was obvious. But he acted differently then Percy. Luke wasn't sure whether the same _exact _things that happened to him in his universe happened to Traitor Percy. Did they say the same exact things to the same exact people? Luke highly doubted it.

Annabeth, was perfectly content sitting next to her mother. Athena was making small talk, while slowly sipping at her soup. Annabeth knew that this wasn't her mother. She wasn't sure if she acted different then her, she never really got to talk to _her _mother, anyway. So now, she's not feeling any guilt for bonding with this Athena.

Travis and Conner were trading prank ideas with Hermes. Hermes was giving them pointers and giving them credit for original ideas. He shared the pranks that he's learned from all over the world, from talking to travelers. Travis and Conner were still tried, and Travis face planted into his pizza, only to have Conner wake him up and eat the pepperoni that was stuck to his cheek.

Will and Apollo were talking about the resent Basketball playoffs scores, the best teams, their favorite teams, and their relatives that were actually on the teams. Otherwise Will was too conservative for his father. Apollo was more random and louder. Will was more like his mother. Quieter, and tends to observe people more than interact with them. But he was happy to sit here and listen to his father laugh and talk with the Olympians.

Apollo _was_ loud, but compared to Clarisse and Ares he was nothing. Clarisse and Ares were having the time of their lives laughing at their burbling contest, hot sauce contest, and chubby bunny challenge. They were too busy choking on marshmallows to actually talk about anything.

Beckendorf and Hephaestus were talking about the Hephaestus capers at camp. Beckendorf missed them horribly, and Hephaestus was completely happy to talk about his kids to his kid. They only paused every once and a while after Beckendorf said something horribly sad and depressing, that Hephaestus had to stop so his voice wouldn't crack.

Silena and Aphrodite weren't having trouble at all. All they had to do to keep their minds off of reality was start talking about the activities of the famous movie and fashion stars, who won the Grammies, and the best chick-flicks that had come out lately.

Poseidon, Zeus, and Hades were feeling the pain of not having their kids there. They sat there quietly, eating their food and trying to start conversation:

"So," Zeus started, "how's the water?"

Hades nodded, "is it warm?"

Poseidon looked at them, "are you two stupid?"

"Maybe," Hades grumbled.

"Shut up," Zeus told him.

* * *

**PIPER 10**

After re-entering the Throne room, Rachel grabbed the book from the floor.

"Okay," she said. "Who wants to read next?"

Silena raised her hand, "I want to."

**The whole campfire idea freaked Piper out. It made her think of that huge purple bonfire in the dreams, and her father tied to a stake.**

"It's nothing like that," Annabeth reassured the book.

**What she got instead was almost as terrifying: a sing along.**

"What?" Apollo looked surprised, "sing alongs are _awesome_!"

**The amphitheater steps were carved into the side of a hill, facing a stone-lined fire pit. Fifty or sixty kids filled the rows, clustered into groups under various banners.**

**Piper spotted Jason in front next to Annabeth. Leo was nearby, sitting with a bunch of burly-looking campers under a steel grey banner emblazoned with a hammer. Standing in front of the fire, half a dozen campers with guitars and strange, old-fashioned harps - lyres? - were jumping around, leading a song about pieces of armor, something about how their grandma got dressed for war. **

"All of our grandmothers have been in war," Will said, "so the song is about history."

"Stop getting defensive over your songs," Rachel groaned.

**Everybody was singing with them and making gestures for the pieces of armor and joking around. It was quiet possibly the weirdest thing Piper had ever seen - one of those campfire songs that would've been completely embarrassing in daylight; but in the dark, with everybody participating, it was kind of corny and fun.**

"Yes," Will seemed satisfied, "yes it is."

**As the energy level got higher, the flames did too, turning from red to orange to gold.**

**Finally the song ended with a lot of rowdy applause. A guy on a horse trotted up. At least in the flickering light, Piper _thought _it was a guy on a horse.**

"Are we seriously going through this again?" Percy grumbled.

**Then she realized it was a centaur - his bottom hair a white stallion, his top half a middle-aged guys with curly hair and a trimmed beard. Her brandished a spear impaled with toasted marshmallows. **

**"Very nice! And a special welcome to our new arrivals. I am Chiron, camp activities director, and I'm happy you have all arrived here alive and with most of your limbs attached. In a moment, I promise we'll get to the s'mores, but first -"**

**"What about capture the flag?" Somebody yelled. **

"They seriously aren't playing capture the flag?" Percy said, "do they not want people to even get _hurt _anymore? The whole camp has turned into a bunch of pansies!"

"Shut up," Annabeth growled.

Percy opened his mouth to shout a insult back to her, but then Poseidon shot a glare at him. He sat back down and clenched his fists.

**Grumbling broke out among some kids in armor, sitting under a red banner with the emblem of a boar's head.**

"Ares," Clarisse muttered, "duh."

**"Yes," the centaur said. "I know the Ares cabin is anxious to return to the woods for our regular games."**

**"And kill people!" one of them shouted.**

"Yes," Ares laughed.

**"However," Chiron said, "until the dragon is brought under control, that won't be possible. Cabin Nine, anything to report on that?"**

**He turned to Leo's group. Leo winked at Piper and shot her with a finger gun. The girl next to him stood uncomfortably. She wore an army jacket a lot like Leo's, with her hair covered in a red bandanna. "We're working on it."**

**More grumbling.**

**"How, Nyssa?" an Ares kid demanded.**

**"Really hard," the girl said.**

**Nyssa sat down to a lot of yelling and complaining, which caused the fire to sputter chaotically. Chiron stamped his hoof against the fire pit stones - _bang, bang, bang _- and the campers fell silent.**

**"We will have to be patient," Chiron said. "In the meantime, we have more pressing matters to discuss."**

**"Percy?" someone asked.**

Poseidon sighed. He had tried to contact his son during lunch break, but with no success. He didn't have time to _really _try to find his location, but he was aching to. He wasn't sure if Percy was missing in the present time. But he had a feeling that all communication with the outside world was gone. Even if Percy is missing, Poseidon had a feeling he would never be able to help look for him.

**The fire dimmed even further,**

"Jeez, Perce," Beckendorf sighed, Silena squeezed his hand. But she felt just as worried as he was. She couldn't even start to imagine what it is like for Annabeth.

"This guy was _really _popular," Rachel whistled, "not even Luke is _that _liked."

"Don't remind me," Annabeth groaned.

**but Piper didn't need the mood flames to sense the crowd's anxiety.**

**Chiron gestured to Annabeth. She took a deep breath and stood.**

"Great, Chiron," Silena scowled, "make her stand and lead, even when she's freaking out."

**"I didn't find Percy," she announced. Her voice caught a little when she said his name.**

"Gods," Silena looked like she was going to start crying into Beckendorf's shoulder. Who looked to be in about the same fragile state of mind as her.

**"He wasn't at the Grand Canyon like I thought. But we're not giving up. We're got teams everywhere. Grover, Tyson, Nico, the Hunters of Artemis - everyone's out looking. We _will _find him. Chiron's talk about something different. A new quest.**

"What a great time to bring that up, Annabeth. " Luke rubbed his hands together, like he was also worried about Percy.

Silena felt bile in her throat. How many times had Luke tried to kill Percy? And now he's sitting here, putting on a show, like they were the bestest of friends. He never even knew him.

**"It's the Great Prophecy, isn't it?" a girl called out.**

"Another one?" Apollo sighed, "we just got through one."

"It was your oracle that said the prophecy!" Athena told him, "you were even there!"

"Sorry, short attention span," he smirked.

"Tell me about it."

**Everyone turned. The voice had come form a group in the back, sitting under a rose-colored banner with a dove emblem. They'd been chatting among themselves and not paying much attention until their leader stood up: Drew.**

"Well," Silena muttered, "she isn't really their "leader."

**Everyone else looked surprised. Apparently Drew didn't address the crowd very often.**

**"Drew?" Annabeth said. "What do you mean?"**

**"Well, _come on._" Drew spread her hands like the truth was obvious. "Olympus is closed. Percy's disappeared. Hera sends you a vision and you come back with three new demigods in one day. I mean, something weird of going on. The Great Prophecy has started, right?"**

"I didn't think she could use her pea sized brain," Annabeth grumbled.

**Piper whispered to Rachel, "What's she talk about - the Great Prophecy?"**

**The she realized everyone else was looking at Rachel, too.**

**"Well?" Drew called out. "You're the oracle. Has it started or not?"**

**Rachel's eyes looked scary in the firelight.**

"They look scary all the time!" Conner exclaimed, "not just in the firelight!"

"Thank you Conner," Rachel said.

**Piper was afraid she might clench up and start channeling a freaky peacock goddess again, but she stepped forward and calmly and addressed the camp.**

**"Yes," she said. "The Great Prophecy had begun."**

"That's going to settle well." Dionysus predicted.

**Pandemonium broke out.**

"Told you," he grumbled.

**Piper caught Jason's eye. He mouthed, _You all right? _She nodded and managed a smile, but then looked away. It was too painful seeing him and not being with him.**

"Oh. My. Gods." Percy groaned.

"Your just uncomfortable because no one ever wanted to being with you," Rachel smirked.

"You don't know that."

**When the talking finally subsided, Rachel took another step toward the audience, and fifty-plus demigods leaned away from her, as if one skinny redheaded mortal was more intimidating then all them put together.**

"Well, she's unpredictable," Will offered, "and you never know who's going to posses her next."

**"For those of you who have not heard it," Rachel said, "the Great Prophecy was my first prediction. It arrived in August. It goes like this:**

_**"Seven half-bloods shall answer the call.**_

_**To storm or fire the world must fall -"**_

**Jason shot to his feet. His eyes looked wild, like he'd just been tasered. **

**Even Rachel seemed caught off guard. "J-Jason?" she said. "What's -"**

_**"Ut cum spiritu postrema dejuremus," **_**he chanted**_**. "Et hostes ornamenta addent ad ianuam necem."**_

"More Latin?" Rachel asked.

"He must remember that from his past," Annabeth said, she was lost in thought, trying to figure out what was going on.

**An uneasy silence settled on the group. Piper could see from their faces that several of them were trying to translate the lines. She could tell it was Latin, but she wasn't sure why her hopefully future boyfriend was suddenly chanting like a Catholic priest.**

**"You just... finished the prophecy," Rachel stammered.**

_**"- An oath to keep with a final breath/And foes bare arms to the Doors of Death. **_**How did you -"**

**"I know those lines." Jason winced and put his hands to his temples. "I don't know how, but I _know _that prophecy."**

**"In Latin, no less," Drew called out. "Handsome _and _smart."**

"She's annoying," Silena grumbled, and rested her head on Beckendorf's shoulder.

**There was some giggling from the Aphrodite cabin. God, what a bunch of losers, Piper thought.**

"That ironic," Poseidon smirked to Aphrodite who's face was turning red.

**But it didn't do much to break the tension. The campfire was burning a chaotic, nervous shade of green.**

**Jason sat down, looking embarrassed, but Annabeth put a hand on his shoulder and muttered something reassuring. Piper felt a pang of jealousy. It should have been _her _next to him, comforting him.**

"Annabeth doesn't give a crap about dating him," Silena muttered, "all she care about is her Perseus."

Athena shook her head, she hated how they talked like Annabeth was only dependent on the Sea Spawn. She can handle herself with a boy to save her all the time.

**Rachel Dare still looked a little shaken. She glanced back at Chiron for guidance, but the centaur stood grim and silent, as if he were watching a play he couldn't interrupt - a tragedy that ended with a lot of people dead onstage.**

**"Well," Rachel said, trying to regain her composure. "So, yeah, that's the Great Prophecy. We hoped it might not happen for years, but I fear it's starting now. I can't give you proof. It's just a feeling. And like Drew said, some weird stuff it happening. the seven demigods, whoever they are, have not been gathered yet. I get the feeling some are here tonight. Some are not here."**

Athena paled, "_f__oes bare arms to the Doors of Death..." _she thought, _it can't be._

**The campers began to stir and mutter, looking at each other nervously, until a drowsy voice in the crows called out, "I'm here! Oh... were you calling roll?"**

**"Go back to sleep, Clovis," someone yelled, and a lot of people laughed.**

**"Anyway," Rachel continued, "we don't know what the Great Prophecy means. We don't know what challenging the demigods will face, but since the _first_ Great Prophecy predicted the Titan War, we can guess the _second _Great Prophecy will predict something at least that bad."**

**"Or worse," Chiron murmured.**

**Maybe he didn't mean everyone to overhear, but they did. The campfire immediately turned dark purple, the same color as Piper's dream**

**"What we _do _know," Rachel said, "is that the first phase has begun. A major problem has arisen, and we need a quest to solve it. Hera, the queen of the gods, has been taken."**

"Watch this," Dionysus grumbled, "they might gasp, but they wont really care too much."

**Shocked silence.**

"See," Dionysus laughed, "not even that."

**Then fifty demigods started talking at once.**

"Okay, maybe not."

**Chiron pounded his hoof again, but Rachel still had to wait before she could get back their attention.**

**She told them about the incident on the Grand Canyon skywalk - how Gleeson Hedge had sacrificed himself when the story spirits attacked, and the spirits had warned it was only the beginning. They apparently served some great mistress who would destroy all demigods.**

"Don't most things want to destroy all demigods?" Travis said.

**Then Rachel told them about Piper passing out in Hera's cabin. Piper tried to keep a calm expression, even when she noticed Drew in the back row, pantomiming a faint, and her friends giggling. Finally Rachel told them about Jason's vision in the living room of the Big House. The message Hera had delivered there was so similar that Piper get a chill. The only different: Hera had warned Piper not to betray her: _Bow to his will, and their kind shall rise, dooming us all. _Hera _knew _about the giant's threat. But if that was true, why hadn't she warned Jason, and exposed Piper as an enemy agent?**

**"Jason," Rachel said. "Um... do you remember your last name?"**

"Wow," Will laughed, "he made you look stupid and you return the feeling. That's very nice of you, Rachel."

Rachel sighed and rubbed her temples, "it isn't me, for the last time."

**He looked self-conscious, but he shook his head. **

**"We'll just call you Jason, then," Rachel said. "It's clear Hera herself has issued you a quest."**

**Rachel paused, as if giving a chance to protest his destiny. Everyone's eyes were on him; there was so much pressure, Piper thought she wouldn've buckled in his position. Yet he looked brave and determined. He set his jaw and nodded. "I agree."**

"Of course he's being brave," Zeus smiled, "he _is _my son."

"Actually," Athena reasoned, "he's Jupiter's son, your Zeus."

"Whichever."

**"You must save Hera to prevent a great evil," Rachel continued. "Some sort of king from rising. For reasons we don't yet understand, it must happen by the winter solstice, only four days from now."**

"I _hate _solstices," Clarisse grumbled, "they're annoying. Always having something important going to rise and kill the world."

**"That's the council day of the gods," Annabeth said. "If the gods don't _already _know Hera's gone,"**

"Which they _should_!" Hera groaned.

"We probably do," Poseidon smirked, "but we just like the quiet for a couple of minuets, so we'll let you suffer."

"I hate you."

**"they will definitely notice her absence by then."**

"Maybe."

**"They'll probably break out fighting, accusing each other of taking her."**

"We're not _that_ explosive," Ares said. "Are we?"

"Yes." Hephaesuts said. "Yes, we are."

**"That's what they usually do."**

**"The winter solstice," Chiron spoke up, "is also the time of greatest darkness. The gods gather that day, as mortals always have, because there is strength in numbers. The solstice is a day when evil magic is strong. _Ancient _magic, older than the gods. It is a day when things... stirs."**

**The way he said it, stirring sounded absolutely sinister - like it should be a first-degree felony, not something you did to cookie dough.**

**"Okay," Annabeth said, glaring at the centaur. "Thank you, Captain Sunshine."**

The demigods laughed, "good one!" Conner and Travis laughed.

**"Whatever's going on, I agree with Rachel. Jason has been chosen to lead this quest, so -"**

**"Why hasn't he been claimed?" somebody yelled from the Ares cabin. "If he's so important -"**

**"He has been claimed," Chiron announced. "Long ago. Jason, give them a demonstration."**

"Oh," Annabeth said. "How does he know about him?"

"He's lived a long time, Annabeth." Athena said, a sad look in her eyes, "he's seen lots of weird situations."

Annabeth nodded and wondered what she had meant by that.

**At first, Jason didn't seem to understand. He stepped forward nervously, but Piper couldn't help thinking how amazing he looked with his blond hair glowing in the firelight, his regal features like a Roman statue's.**

"She had no idea."

**He glanced at Piper, and she nodded encouragingly. She mimicked flipping a coin.**

**He reached into his pocket. His coin flashing in the air, and when he caught it in his hand, he was holding a lance - a rod of gold about seven feet long, with a spear tip at one end.**

"What? I though he had a sword!" Annabeth thought for a moment. "Could it be that one side is a sword, like heads, and the spear is the tails? Or something like that?"

**The other demigods gasped. Rachel and Annabeth stepped back to avoid the point, which looked sharp as an ice pick.**

**"Wasn't that..." Annabeth hesitated. "I thought you had a sword."**

**"Um, it came up tails, I think," Jason said. "Same coin, long-range weapon form."**

"That's..." Annabeth started.

"Awesome!" Travis yelled.

**"Dude, I want one!" yelled somebody from Ares cabin. **

**"Better than Clarisse's electric spear, Lamer!" one of his brothers agreed.**

"What?" Clarisse snorted, "who said that?"

"I guess I know what I'm getting everyone this year," Ares sighed and slumped back in his throne.

**"Electric," Jason murmured, like that was a good idea. "Back away."**

**Annabeth and Rachel got the message. Jason raised his javelin, and thunder broke open the sky. Every hair on Piper's arms stood straight up. Lightning arced down through the golden spear point and hit the campfire with the force of an artillery shell.**

"Show off," Percy grumbled.

**When the smoke cleared, and the ringing in Piper's ears subsided, the entire camp sat frozen in shock, half blind, covered in ashes, staring at the place where the fire had been. Cinders rained down everywhere.**

"Well that's a good way to set the entire camp on fire." Hades pointed out.

**A burning log had impaled itself a few inches from the sleeping kid Clovis, who hadn't even stirred.**

"And that's a good way to kill someone," Hades said again. "His little show almost burned down the entire camp."

"Who cares?" Dionysus grumbled.

"I do!" Over half the Olympians shouted at him, "our children live there!"

**Jason lowered his lance. "Um... sorry."**

**Chiron brushed some burning coals out of his bread. He grimaced as if his worst fears had been confirmed. "A little overkill, perhaps, but you've made your point. And I believe we know who your father is."**

**"Jupiter," Jason said. "I mean Zeus. Lord of the sky."**

"It's Jupiter," Athena corrected, "the poor child is going to get so confused."

**Piper couldn't help smiling. It made perfect sense. The most powerful god, the father of all the greatest heroes in the ancient myths -"**

Poseidon and Hades cleared their throats

"Excuse me?" Poseidon asked. "I thought I just had a pretty powerful son, who outmatched even Hercules in his achievements!"

"Well she doesn't know that," Zeus offered.

"Yeah," Poseidon agreed, "but you do. So don't go getting a bigger head."

"Speak for yourself."

**no one else could possibly be Jason's dad.**

"She is seriously praising this guy like's he's a god," Perseus noticed.

"For once I agree with fish breath over there," Rachel said.

Percy scowled at his nickname, but left it alone.

**Apparently, the rest of the camp wasn't so sure. Everything broke into chaos, with dozens of people asking questions until Annabeth raised her arms.**

"Of course," Luke muttered, "they want to make sure that the Great Prophecy is _really _over."

Silena whispered in Beckendorf's ear, "it's over as long as _he's _dead."

**"Hold it!" she said. "How can he be the son of Zeus? The Big Three... their pact not to have mortal kids..."**

"Yeah see how well that went," Apollo laughed, "aren't I right, guys?"

The Big Three didn't say a thing.

"I'm always right."

**"how could we not have known about him sooner?"**

**Chiron didn't answer, but Piper got the feeling he knew. And the truth was not good.**

**"The important thing," Rachel said, "is that Jason's here now. He has a quest to fulfill, which means he will need his own prophecy."**

**She closed her eyes and swooned.**

"Isn't that what girls did back in the fifteen hundreds?" Conner asked.

"Yeah," Annabeth answered.

Conner laughed. "Rachel you just 'swooned.'"

**Two campers rushed forward and caught her. A third ran to the side of the amphitheater and grabbed a bronze three-legged stood, like they'd been trained for this duty. They eased Rachel onto the stool in front of the ruined hearth. Without the fire, the night was dark, but green mist started swirling around Rachel's feet. When she opened her eyes, they were glowing. Emerald smoke issued from her mouth. The voice that came out was raspy and ancient - the sound a snake would make if it could talk:**

"I'm glade that we have Rachel now and not the old mummy as oracle. Rachel's so much more... alive."

_**"Child of lightning, beware the earth, **_

_**The giant's revenge the seven shall birth, **_

_**The forge and dove shall break the cage,**_

_**And death unleash through Hera's rage."**_

"That sounds..." Athena started.

"Fun!" Ares finished, he laughed like it was the best thing in the world.

"Okaaayyy."

**On the last word, Rachel collapsed, but her helpers were waiting to catch her. The carried her away from the hearth and laid her in the corner to rest.**

**"Is that normal?" Piper asked. Then she realized she'd spoken into the silence, and everyone was looking at her. "I mean... does she spew green smoke a lot?"**

"I thought we already got through this," Percy frowned.

**"Gods, you're dense!"**

"Drew," Silena sighed and rested her head in her hands.

**Drew sneered.**

"I knew it," Silena grumbled in her hands.

**"She just issued a prophecy - Jason's prophecy to save Hera! Why don't you just -"**

**"Drew," Annabeth snapped. "Piper asked a fair question. Something about that prophecy _definitely _isn't normal. If breaking Hera's cage unleashes her rage and causes a bunch of death... why would we free her? It might be a trap, or - or maybe Hera will turn on her rescuers. She's never been kind to heroes."**

Hera sneered, "she's just saying that because she hates me."

"She has a right to," Poseidon grumbled.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

**Jason rose. "I don't have much choice. Hera took my memory. I need it back. Besides, we can't just _not _help the queen of the heavens if she's in trouble."**

"Yeah," Hera agreed, "it's not like she'd kill you as soon as she got out if you didn't. Nothing big."

**A girl from the Hephaestus cabin stood up - Nyssa, the one with the red bandanna. "Maybe. But threw her own son - our dad - down a mountain just because he was ugly."**

"Thanks for reminding me," Hephaestus muttered.

"I like your daughter," Hera told him.

**"_Real _ugly," snickered a girl from Aphrodite.**

"Sorry," Aphrodite told him, stoking his arm.

**"Shut up!" Nyssa growled. "Anyway, we've also got to think - why beware the earth? And what's the giants' revenge? What are we dealing with here that's powerful enough to kidnap the queen of the heavens?"**

**No one answered, but Piper noticed Annabeth and Chiron having a silent exchange. Piper thought it went something like:**

**Annabeth: _The giants' revenge... no, it can't be._**

**Chiron: _Don't speak of it here. Don't scare them._**

"Okay," Rachel said, "that's scary."

**Annabeth: _You're kidding me! We can't be _that _unlucky._**

**Chiron: _Later, child. If you told them everything, they would be too terrified to proceed._**

**Piper knew it was crazy to think she could read their expressions to well - two people she barely knew. But she was absolutely positive she understood them, and it scared the jujubes out of her.**

"'Jujubes?'" Beckendorf asked, "I've never heard that one before."

**Annabeth took a deep breath. "It's Jason's quest," she announced, "so it's Jason's choice. Obviously, he's the child of lightning. According to tradition, he may choose any two companions."**

"He better not choose Annabeth," Athena said.

"Why?" Zeus asked.

"Because, she's going through enough. She doesn't need to go on _another _quest after she just won a war, and..."

"Lost the love of her life!" Aphrodite squealed, "let's not forget that Perseus is missing! She's freaking out about that!"

"Don't remind me."

**Someone from the Hermes cabin yelled, "Well, you, obviously, Annabeth. You've got the most experience."**

"She does," Athena admitted, "but she also wont help Hera. She hates her."

**"No, Travis,"**

"Yes!" Travis laughed, "I'm finally in the story!"

"It's probably the only time you'll be in the story," Annabeth reminded him.

**Annabeth said. "First off, I'm _not _helping Hera. Every time I've tried, she's deceived me, or it's come back to bite me later. Forget it. Now way. Secondly, I'm leaving first thing in the morning to find Percy."**

"Wow," Artemis whistled, "I've got to hand it to you, Athena. You know your children."

**"It's connected," Piper blurted out, not sure how she got the courage. "You know that's true, don't you? The whole business, your boyfriend's disappearance - it's all connected."**

"Why can't she call him by name?" Poseidon asked, "why is it always 'Annabeth's boyfriend?'"

"Because they don't know him personally, so it's easier to call him by what they're sure of." Athena assured him, "but trust me, I'm just as annoyed as you are."

**"How?" Drew demanded. "If you're so smart, how?" **

**Piper tried to form an answer, but she couldn't.**

"Gods, someone shut Drew up! Kick her out, or something!" Silena exclaimed.

**Annabeth saved her. "You may be right, Piper. If this is connected, I'll find out from the other end - by searching for Percy. As I said, I'm not about to rush off to rescue Hera, even if her disappearance sets the rest of the Olympians fighting again. But there's another reason I can't go. The prophecy says otherwise."**

**"It says who _I _pick," Jason agreed. "_The forge and dove shall break the cage. _The forge is the symbol of Vul-Hephaestus." **

**Under the Cabin Nine banner, Nyssa's shoulder slumped, like she'd just been given a heavy anvil to carry.**

Hephaestus winced.

**"if you have to beware the earth," she said, "you should avoid traveling overland. You'll need air transport."**

"Or sea," Poseidon grumbled, "the lightning boy would do well on the open ocean."

"You're terrifying," Aphrodite squeaked.

**Piper was about to call out that Jason could fly. But then she thought better of it. That was for Jason to tell them, and he wasn't volunteering the information. Maybe he figured he'd freaked them out enough for one night.**

**"The flying chariot's broken," Nyssa continued, "and the pegasi, we're using them to search for Percy. But maybe Hephaestus cabin can help figure out something else to help. With Jake incapacitated, I'm senior camper. I can volunteer for the quest."**

"It's Leo who need's to go," Hephaestus said, "he has to."

**She didn't sound enthusiastic.**

**Then Leo stood up. He'd been so quiet, Piper had almost forgotten he was there, which was totally _not _like Leo."**

**"No, it's me. I know it is. I've got an idea for the transportation problem. Let me try. I can fix this!"**

**Jason studied him for a moment. Piper was sure he was going to tell Leo no. Then he smiled. "We started this together, Leo. Seems only right you come along. You find us a ride, your in."**

"Ha," Percy laughed, "he' just using him for a free ride."

**"Yes!" Leo pumped his fist.**

"That's not really something you should be happy about," Hephaestus grimaced.

**"It'll be dangerous," Nyssa warned him. "Hardship, monsters, terrible suffering. Possibly none of you will come back alive."**

**"Oh." Suddenly Leo didn't look so excited. Then he remembered everyone was watching. "I mean... Oh, cool! Suffering? I love suffering! Let's do this."**

Hephaestus sighed.

**Annabeth nodded. "Then, Jason you only need to choose the third member. The dove -"**

**"Oh, absolutely!" Drew was on her feet and flashing Jason a smile. "The dove is Aphrodite. Everybody knows that. I am _totally _yours."**

"Gross," Silena gagged.

**Piper's hands clenched. She stepped forward. "No."**

**Drew rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, Dumpster girl. Back off."**

**"_I _had the vision of Hera; not you. I have to do this."**

**"Anyone can have a vision," Drew said. "You were just at the right place at the right time." She turned to Jason. "Look, fighting is all fine, I suppose. And people who build things..." She looked at Leo in disdain. "Well, I supposed someone has to get their hands dirty. But you need _charm _on your side. I can be very persuasive. I could help a lot."**

"Sure," Silena said, "persuasive in all the _wrong _ways."

**The campers started murmuring about how Drew _was_ pretty persuasive. Piper could see Drew winning them over. Even Chiron was scratching his beard, like Drew's participation suddenly made sense to him.**

**"Well..." Annabeth said. "Given the wording of the prophecy -"**

**"No!" Piper's own voice sounded strange in her ears - more insistent, richer in tone. "I'm supposed to go."**

**Then the weirdest thing happened.**

"What?" Will asked, "does she finally get claimed?"

**Everyone started nodding, muttering that hmm, Piper's point of view made sense too. Drew looked around, incredulous. Even some of her own campers were nodding.**

"Charmspeak," Annabeth guessed.

**"Get over it!" Drew snapped at the crowd. "What can Piper do?"**

**Piper tried to respond, but her confidence started to wane. What _could _she offer? She wasn't a fighter, or a planner, or a fixer. She had no skills except getting into trouble and occasionally convincing people to do stupid things.**

**Plus, she was a liar. She needed to go on this quest for reasons that went way beyond Jason - and if she did go, she'd end up betraying everyone there. She heard the voice from the dream: _Do our bidding, and you may walk away alive. _How could she make a choice like that - between helping her father and helping Jason?**

"Your dad should come first," Rachel said. "It's ridiculous to let him _die_, over a boy you literally just met that day."

**"Well," Drew said smugly, "I guess that settles it."**

**Suddenly there was a collective gasp. Everyone stared at Piper like she'd just exploded. She wondered what she'd done wrong. The she realized there was a reddish glow around her. **

**"What?" She demanded.**

"Now, she's getting claimed," Aphrodite told them.

**She looked above her, but there was no burning symbol like the one that appeared over Leo. Then she looked down and yelped.**

**Her clothes... what in the world was she _wearing? _She despised dresses. She didn't _own _a dress. But now she was adorned in a beautiful white sleeveless gown that went down to her ankles, with a V-neck so low it was totally embarrassing. Delicate gold armbands circled her biceps. An intricate necklace of amber, coral, and gold flowers glittered on her chest, and her hair...**

"Oh, yeah. " Silena smiled, "I remember that! It's that blessing that you give us when you claim us. I almost forgot."

**"Oh, god," she said. "What's happened?" **

**A stunned Annabeth pointed at Piper's dagger, which was now oiled and gleaming, handing at her side on a golden cord. Piper didn't wan to draw it. She was afraid of what she would see. But her curiosity won out. She unsheathed Katoptris and stared at her reflection in the polished metal blade. Her hair was perfect: lush and long and chocolate brown, braided with gold ribbons down one side so it fell across her shoulder. She even wore makeup, better than Piper would ever know how to do herself - subtle touches that made her lips cherry red and brought out all the different colors in her eyes.**

**She was.. she was...**

"Gorgeous," Aphrodite squealed, "just like all my other children."

**"Beautiful," Jason exclaimed. "Piper, you... you're a knockout."**

**Under different circumstanced, that would've been the happiest moment of her life. But now everyone was staring at her like she was a freak. Drew's face was full of horror and revulsion. "No!" she cried. "Not possible!"**

**"This isn't me," Piper protested. "I - don't understand."**

**Chiron the centaur folded his front legs and bowed to her, and all the campers followed his example.**

**"Hair, Piper McLean," Chiron announced gravely, as if he were speaking at her funeral. "Daughter of Aphrodite, lade of the doves, goddess of love."**

"He was pretty much predicting her death." Percy smirked, proud of his observation skills.

"Shut up!" Aphrodite told him.

"Okay, so who else wants to read next?" Silena asked, holding the book out.

But before anyone could answer... a flash of light signaled the arrival of another person...

**END OF PIPER 10**


	13. Leo 11

**Okay, so you guys have been wanting me to bring in some characters from the original series. So I got you one.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. **

* * *

Standing in the middle of the room was a girl.

Annabeth almost screamed when she saw herself. The same face, same eyes, same body, same clothes. But this Annabeth was taller, and instead of glaring at herself, she was looking at her with a hint of curiosity and admiration. The Other Annabeth smiled and looked up at the gods.

"So," she said, "is this some kind of joke?"

"I wish it was, Annabeth," Athena muttered. "But we have serious matters to attended."

"Yes!" Annabeth threw her hands up, "Percy is missing! And you guys have been closed off for a month! What's up with that?"

"Annabeth," Athena said slowly.

"And now you bring me up here, and show me replicas of me and my friends!" She pointed at Beckendorf, Silena, and Luke. "Then you bring people from the dead! Is this some kind of cruel joke!" She looked back again, then pointed at Traitor Percy, "and who's this guy?"

"Annabeth, we are reading a book..." Athena continued to tell Original Annabeth about the book, and the different realities. Annabeth looked like she wanted to puke when she heard of Luke being the Hero and Percy being the traitor. She would glance back at Traitor Percy, trying to decide how her Perseus could turn into _that _Perseus.

Afterward she sat down on the floor, her eyes were stormy and her hands were shaking a little.

"So," she said slowly, "you still don't know where Percy is? Like _our _Percy?"

Poseidon shook his head sadly, "sorry. I'm just as worried as you are."

Annabeth nodded, "okay. So you flashed me out right before I was heading off to search for Percy. Where are you in the book?"

"About the time after the campfire, where Piper got claimed," Other Annabeth told her.

Annabeth took a second to nod her head. "That was last night," she said, "so I'm just a little ahead of you guys."

"Okay," Rachel said, "just don't spoil anything."

"I'll keep my mouth shut," Annabeth agreed.

"Okay," Silena raised the book, "who wants to read next?"

"I will," Other Annabeth said, "it might just keep my head together to concentrate on something."

Original Annabeth nodded and went and sat next to Silena, who squealed and hugged her tightly. "I missed you so much!" she cried into her shoulder, and Original Annabeth hugged her tight.

Then she went and hugged Beckendorf, who was smiling like a crazy person. "You and Percy, huh?" He joked, "I knew it all along."

"Shut up," she hugged him again.

Original Annabeth glanced over at Luke. _The _Luke who had killed himself because of her convincing him too. The wounds of his death still hurt inside her. She wanted to still believe that they were friends, even after all the trouble he's caused. He was confused.

They locked eyes and Original Annabeth smiled at him, "hey, Luke." she said quietly.

"Hey," was all he said, before he lowered his eyes in shame.

"Okay," Original Annabeth sat down, and looked at Other Annabeth. "Let's start this nightmare."

* * *

(A/N: **I'm going to show the different Annabeth's by calling them by "Other," or "Original." "Original" will be the Annabeth that came from the book, with Hero Percy. "Other," will be the Annabeth from the "other" reality, see what I did there? So hopefully it wont be _too _confusing.)**

* * *

**LEO 11**

**Leo didn't stick around after Piper turned beautiful. Sure, it was amazing and all - _She's got makeup! It's a miracle!_ - but Leo had problems to deal with. He ducked out of the amphitheater and ran into the darkness, wondering what he'd gotten himself into.**

**He'd stood up in front of a bunch of stronger, braver demigods and volunteered - _volunteered _- for a mission that would probably get him killed.**

"Probably," Other Annabeth admitted.

**He hadn't mentioned seeing Tia Callida, his old babysitter, but as soon as he'd heard about Jason's vision - the lady in the black dress and shawl - Leo knew it was the same woman. Tia Callida was Hera.**

"Seriously?" Original Annabeth asked, "how deep are you in this?"

Hera scowled at her and didn't answer.

**His evil babysitter was the queen of the gods. Stuff like that could really deep-fry your brain.**

**He trudged toward the woods and tried not to think about his childhood - all the messed-up things that had led to his mother's death but he couldn't help it.**

"Why is he going to the woods?" Beckendorf asked, "he's not going to do what I think he's going to do." He looked at Original Annabeth, "is he?"

Original Annabeth nodded, "sadly. He has guts."

Beckendorf nodded.

**The first time Tia Callida tried to kill him, he must've been about two. Tia Callida was looking after him while his mother was at the machine shop. She wasn't really his aunt, of course.**

"More like his grandma," Original Annabeth smirked at her comment.

**Just one of the old women in the community, a generic _tia _who helped watch the kids. She smelled like honey-baked ham, and always wore a widow's dress with a black shawl.**

"Well that's depressing," Original Annabeth muttered, "you couldn't go for something more lively? Like peach?"

Hera glared at the girl, and shot Athena a warning glare.

"Annabeth," Athena warned.

**"Let's set you down for a nap," she said. "Let's see if you are my brave little hero, eh?"**

**Leo was sleepy. She nestled him into his blankets in a warm mound of red and yellow - pillows? The bed was like a cubby hole in the wall, made of blackened bricks, with a metal slot over his head and a square hole far above, where he could see the stars.**

"You set him in an oven, didn't you." Hephaestus muttered, completely calm.

Hera nodded.

"Figures."

**He remember resting comfortably, grabbing at sparks like fireflies. He dozed, and dreamed of a boat made of fire, sailing through the cinders. He imagined himself on board, navigating the sky. Somewhere nearby, Tia Callida sat in her rocking chair - _creak, creak, creak - _and sang a lullaby. Even at two, Leo knew the difference between English and Spanish, and he remembered being puzzled because Tia Callida was singing a language that was neither.**

"That's really creepy," Original Annabeth pointed out.

**Everything was fine until his mother came home. She screamed and raced over to snatch him up, yelling at Tia Callida, "how could you?" But the old lady had disappeared.**

**Leo remembered looking over his mother's shoulder at the flames curling around his blankets. Only years later had he realized he'd been sleeping in a blazing fireplace.**

"How could you do that?" Original Annabeth asked, "I knew you were evil, but how could you try and kill him like that? And how is he not hurt?!" Then she thought for a second, then rubbed her forehead. "He can control fire, can't he."

Hephaestus nodded.

"Well that's just great."

**The weirdest thing? Tia Callida hadn't been arrested or even banished from their house.**

"Well of course not," Will grumbled, "she kinda a goddess."

**She appeared again several times over the next few years. Once when Leo was three, she let him play with knives. "You must learn your blades early," she insisted, "if you are to be my hero someday." Leo managed not to kill himself, but he got the feeling Tia Callida wouldn't have cared one way or the other.**

"She wouldn't," Silena whispered.

**When Leo was four, Tia found a rattlesnake for him in a nearby cow pasture. **

"You gave him a rattlesnake, too," Hephaestus grumbled.

"Yes," Hera smiled, "I thought you kept up on your children. You should've known this long ago."

**She gave him a stick and encouraged him to poke the animal. "Where is your bravery, little hero? Show me the Fates were right to choose you." Leo stares down at those amber eyes, hearing the dry _shh - shh - ssh _of the snake's rattle. He couldn't bring himself to poke the snake.**

"At least he has some common sense," Clarisse scowled.

**It didn't seem fair. Apparently the snake felt the same way about biting a little kid. Leo could've sworn it looked at Tia Callida like, _Are you nuts, lady? _Then it disappeared into the tall grass.**

**The last time she babysat him, Leo was five. She brought him a pack of crayons and a pad of paper. They sat together at the picnic table in back of the apartment complex, under an old pecan tree. While Tia Callida sang her strange songs, Leo drew a picture of the boat he'd seen in the flames, with colorful sails and rows of oars, a curved stern, and an awesome masthead. When he was almost done, about to sign his name the way he'd learned in kindergarten, a wind snatched the picture away. It flew into the sky and disappeared.**

**Leo wanted to cry. He'd spent so much time on that picture - but Tia Callida just clucked with disappointment.**

**"It isn't time yet, little hero. Someday, you'll have your quest. You'll find your destiny, and your hard journey will finally make sense. But first you must face many sorrows. I regret that, but heroes cannot be shaped any other way."**

"Still," Original Annabeth said, "you could help us a little." She sighed, "help Percy a little."

**"Now, make me a fire, eh? Warm these old bones."**

"You said it," Apollo smirked, "not me."

**A few minuets later, Leo's mom came out and shrieked with horror. Tia Callida was gone, but LEo sat in the middle of a smoking fire. The pad of paper was reduced to ashes. Crayons had melted into a bubbling puddle of multicolored goo, and Leo's hands were ablaze, slowed burning through the picnic table. For years afterward, people in the apartment complex would wonder how someone had seared the impressions of a five-year-old's hands a inch deep into the solid wood.**

"Yeah," Beckendorf said slowly, "that would be weird to see."

**Now Leo was sure that Tia Callida, his psychotic babysitter, had been Hera all along. That made her, what - his godly grandmother?**

"Yes," Percy grumbled, "didn't we already establish that?"

Other Annabeth groaned, and pinched the bridge of her nose like she was getting a headache. Original Annabeth looked at Other Percy, trying to decide how he was different then _her _Percy, other than the horrible scar.

**His family was even more messed up then he realized.**

**He wondered if his mother known the truth. Leo remembered after that last visit, his mom took him inside and had a long talk with him, but he only understood some of it.**

**"She can't come back again." His mom had a beautiful face with kind eyes, and curly dark hair, but she looked older than she was because of work. The lines around her eyes were deeply etched. Her hands were callused. she was the first person from their family to graduate from college. She had a degree in mechanical engineering and could design anything, fix anything, build anything.**

Hephaestus sighed dreamily, and Aphrodite sigh and rolled her eyes.

**No one would hire her. No company would take her seriously, so she ended up in the machine shop, trying to make enough money to support the two of them. She always smelled of machine oil, and when she talked with Leo, she switched from Spanish to English constantly - using them like complementary tools. It took Leo years to realize that not everyone spoke that way. She'd even taught him Morse code as a kind of game, so they could tap messages to each other when they were in different rooms: _I love you. You okay?_ Simple things like that.**

"That's sweet! " Silena cooed.

**"I don't care what Callida says," his mom told him. "I don't care about destiny and the Fates. You're too young for that. You're still my baby."**

**She took his hands, looking for burn marks, but of course there weren't any. "Leo, listen to me. Fire is a tool, like anything else, but it's more dangerous than most. You don't know your limits. Please, promise me - no more fire until you meet your father. Someday, _mijo, _you _will _meet him. He'll explain everything."**

"He won't in time," Hephaestus grumbled.

"You could've changed that," Athena said.

"No he couldn't," Zeus barked, "no interfering with mortals. You all know that."

**Leo had heard that since he could remember. Someday he would meet his dad. His mom wouldn't answer any questions about him. Leo had never met him, never even seen pictures, but she talked like he'd just gone to the store for some milk and he'd be back any minuet. Leo tried to believer her. Someday, everything would make sense.**

**For the next couple of years, they were happy. Leo almost forgot about Tia Callida. He still dreamed of the flying boat, but the other strange events seemed like a dream too.**

**It all camp apart when he was eight. By then, he was spending every free hour at the shop with his mom. He knew how to use the machines. He could measure and do math better than most adults. He'd learned to thing three-dimensionally, solving mechanical problems in his head the way his mom did.**

**One night, they stayed late because his mom was finishing a drill pit design she hoped to patent. If she could sell the prototype, it might change their lives. She'd finally get a break.**

"She never got it," Athena sighed, "did she."

Hephaestus sighed sadly, "no."

**As she worked, Leo passed her supplies and told her corny jokes, trying to keep her spirits up. He loved it when he could make her laugh. She'd smiled and say, "Your father would be proud of you, _mijo. _You'll meet him soon, I'm sure."**

**Mom's workspace was at the very back of the shop. I was kind of creepy at night, because they were the only ones there. Every second echoed through the dark warehouse, but Leo didn't mind as long as he was with his mom. If he did wander the shop, they could always keep in touch with Morse code taps. Whenever they were ready to leave, they had to walk through the entire shop, through the break room, and out to the parking lit, locking the doors behind them.**

**That night after finishing up, they'd just gotten to the break room when his mom realized she didn't have her keys.**

**"That's funny." She frowned. "I know I had them. Wait here, _mijo. _I'll only be a minuet."**

**She gave him one more smile - the last one he'd ever get - and she went back into the warehouse.**

**She'd only been gone a few heartbeats when the interior door slammed shut. Then the exterior door locked itself.**

"Oh, crap." Other Annabeth winced, "I almost don't want to read this."

**"Mom?" Leo's heart pounded. Something heavy crashed inside the warehouse. **

"What is going to... you know," Original Annabeth said, "kill her?"

**He ran to the door, but no matter how hard he pulled or kicked, I wouldn't open. "Mom!" Frantically, he tapped a message on the wall: _You okay?_**

"Oh, jeez," Percy closed his eyes, "that's... sad."

"Like you should talk," Other Annabeth grumbled quietly. "You've done that and way more to people."

**"She can't hear you," a voice said.**

"It better not be Hera again," Original Annabeth groaned, "if you killed her, you'll just be giving me another reason to totally hate you."

Hera groaned, "I didn't kill her." Her face darkened, "someone else did."

**Leo turned and found himself facing a strange woman. At first he thought it was Tia Callida.**

"It wasn't me," Hera defended herself, "I already told you."

**She was wrapped in black robes, with a veil cover her face.**

**"Tia?" he said.**

**The woman chuckled, a slow gentle sound, as if she were half asleep.**

_It couldn't be, _Athena thought, _could it?_

**"I am not your guardian. Merely a family resemblance."**

**"What-what do you want? Where's my mom?"**

**"Ah... loyal to your mother. How nice. But you see, I have children too... and I understand you will fight them someday. When they try to wake me, you will prevent them. I cannot allow that."**

Athena felt a sinking feeling in her gut as she realized who it was. Poseidon glanced over at her, and caught the worried look in her face.

_You okay? _He mouthed.

Athena scowled, and shook her head slightly. _I'm fine, just don't say anything._

Poseidon was confused, but kept his mouth shut.

**"I don't know you. I don't want to fight anybody."**

**she muttered like a sleepwalker in a trance, "A wise choice."**

**With a chill, Leo realized the woman was, in fact, asleep. Behind the veil, her eyes were closed. But even stranger: her clothes were not made of cloth. They were made of _earth -_**

Poseidon's eyes widened with the rest of the Olympians.

"No, no. It can't be," Poseidon said, "it can't be her."

Athena nodded, "but it has to be. Who else would be asleep, have a dress made of earth, _and _have children that would "wake her."

Zeus shook his head, "I don't want to think that that's what it is, but it has to be."

Hephaestus nodded, "That's why Jason was brought to camp, it's because they are supposed to fight against them."

"Alright," Athena waved for Other Annabeth to continue. "We'll finish this when the book figures it out, we still could be wrong."

**dry black dirt, churning and shifting around her. Her pale, sleeping face was barely visible behind a curtain of dust, and he had the horrible sense that she'd had just risen from the grave. If the woman was asleep, Leo wanted her to stay that way. He knew that fully awake, she would be even more terrible.**

**"I can't destroy you yet," the woman murmured. "The Fate will not allow it. But they not do protect your mother, and they cannot stop me from breaking your spirit. Remember this night, little hero, when they ask you to oppose me."**

**"Leave my mother alone!" Fear rose in his throat as the woman shuffled forward. She moved more like an avalanche than a person, a dark wall of earth shifting toward him.**

**"How will you stop me?" she whispered.**

**She walked straight through a table, the particles of her body resembling on the other side.**

**She loomed over Leo, and he knew she would pass right through him, too. He was the only thing between her and his mother.**

**His hands caught fire.**

"He's breaking his promise," Original Annabeth noticed.

**A sleep smile spread across the woman's face, as if she'd already won. Leo screamed with desperation. His vision turned red. Flames washed over the earthen woman, the walls, the locked doors. And Leo lost consciousness.**

"That's unfortunate," Rachel said.

**When he woke, he was in an ambulance.**

**The paramedic tried to be kind. She told him the warehouse had burned down.**

"He's going to think that he killed her," Original Annabeth predicted.

**His mother hadn't made it out. The paramedic said she was sorry, but Leo felt hollow. He'd lost control, just like his mother had warned. Her death was his fault.**

"I knew it."

**Soon the police came to get him, and they weren't as nice. The fire had started in the break room, they said, right where Leo was standing. He'd survived by some miracle, but what kind of child locked the doors of his mother's workplace, knowing she was inside, and started a fire?**

"This chapter is seriously depressing me," Silena said.

**Later, his neighbors at the apartment complex told the police what a strange boy he was. They talked about the burned handprints on the picnic table. They'd always known something was wrong with Esperanza Valdez's son.**

**His relatives wouldn't take him in. His Aunt Rosa called him a _diablo_ and shouted at the social workers to take him away.**

"What's a _diablo?" _Tavis asked.

"It's a devil," Other Annabeth answered him, "it's Spanish."

**So Leo went to his first foster home. A few days later, he ran away. Some foster homes lasted longer than others. He would joke around, make a few friends, pretend that nothing bothered him, but he always ended up running sooner or later. It was the only thing that made the pain better - feeling like he was moving, getting farther away from the ashes of that machine shop.**

Hephaestus winced at every word that Other Annabeth read. Aphrodite held his hand to try and calm him.

**He'd promised himself he would never play with fire again. He hadn't thought about Tia Callida, or the sleeping woman wrapped in earthen robes, for a long time.**

"Is it just me," Percy said, "or is his chapter super depressing?"

**He was almost to the woods when he imagined Tia Callida's voice: _It wasn't your fault, little hero. Our enemy wakes. It's time to stop running._**

"So your at least trying to reassure him," Hephaestus said to Hera.

Hera smiled, "well, yeah. I'm not _completely _evil."

"Some might differ," Poseidon mumbled under his breath.

**"Hera," Leo muttered, "you're not even here, are you? You're in a cage somewhere."**

**There was no answer.**

**But now, at least, Leo understood something. Hera had been watching him his entire life. Somehow, she'd known that one day she would need him. Maybe those Fates she mentioned could tell the future. Leo wasn't sure. But he knew he was _meant _to go on this quest. Jason's prophecy warned them to beware the earth, and Leo knew it had something to do with that sleeping woman in the shop, wrapped in robes of shifting dirt. **

_**You'll find your destiny, **_**Tia Callida had promised,**_** and your hard journey will finally make sense.**_

**Leo might find out what that flying boat in his dreams meant. He might meet his father, or even get to avenge his mother's death.**

"That sounds like someone else," Athena muttered, "I think he was twelve... just fought the minotaur... sound fermillier?"

"Shut up," Poseidon grumbled.

"Please, mother." Original Annabeth groaned, "that isn't helping."

**But first things first. He'd promised Jason a flying ride. **

**Not the boat from his dreams - bot yet. There wasn't time to build something that complicated. He need a quicker solution. He needed a dragon.**

"No," Beckendorf sighed, "he's crazy! That dragon will rip him to shreds, even if he is immune to fire!"

"This will be entertaining," Ares chucked.

"Shut up," Hephaestus glared at him.

**He hesitated at the edge of the woods, peering into the absolute darkness. Owls hooted, and something far away hissed like a chorus of snakes.**

**Leo remembered what Will Solace had told him: No one should go into the woods alone, definitely not unarmed. Leo had nothing - no sword, no flashlight, no help.**

**He glanced back at the lights of the cabins. He could turn around now and tell everyone he'd been joking. _Psych! _Nyssa could go on the quest instead. He could stay at camp and learn to be part of the Hephaestus cabin, but he wondered how long it would be before he looked like his bunkmates - sad, dejected, convinced of his own bad luck.**

Beckendorf sighed.

_**They cannot stop me from breaking your spirit, **_**the sleeping woman had said. _Remember this night, little hero, when they ask you to oppose me._**

"Only because it's right," Poseidon sighed.

**"Believe me, lady," Leo muttered, "I remember. And whoever you are, I'm gonna face-plant you hard, Leo style."**

**He took a deep breath a plunged into the forest.**

"Alright," Other Annabeth groaned, "the depressing chapter is over."

"And in the next chapter we get to read about the kid getting mauled by a dragon!" Ares laughed, "finally something entertaining is going to happen!"

"Well then," Other Annabeth smirked. "You get to read since your so excited about it."

Ares suddenly wasn't so happy.

**END OF LEO 11**


	14. Leo 12

**So yeah, I'm going to do this with the entire Heroes of Olympus series. So don't worry, this wont be the only book that I'm going to do. **

**And a quick update on what page were on: 145**

**We're in the hundreds, so we only have... like 400 pages, roughly, to go. So don't worry this wont be stopping anytime soon.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of this stuff.**

* * *

** LEO 12**

**The woods weren't like anyplace he'd seen before.**

"Wow," Percy grumbled, "that guy must not get out very often."

Other Annabeth clenched her jaw from yelling at him. Everything that he said annoyed her to the point that she wanted to shoot him in the head.

**Leo had been raised in a north Houston apartment complex. The wildest things he'd ever seen were that rattlesnake in the cow pasture and his Aunt Rosa in her nightgown,**

"Goss," Rachel scowled.

**until he was sent to the wilderness school.**

**Even there, the school had been in the desert. No trees with gnarled roots to trip over. No streams to fall into. No branches casting dark, creepy shadows and owls looking down at him with their big reflective eyes. This was the Twilight Zone.**

Other Annabeth looked over at Original Annabeth. Original Annabeth was sitting next to Silena and Beckendorf, who were practically sitting on each other, making Original Annabeth look like a third wheel. She had a distant look on her face, like she was think about something. Other Annabeth couldn't shake the weird feelings that she was getting from having herself from a different reality in the same room.

Original Annabeth looked like she was about as sad and worried as Other Annabeth was. She must be worried about her Percy. Just like Other Annabeth was worried about her Luke. Every once and a while you could see Original Annabeth glance up at Poseidon, and get a sad look on her face, and she would look at the ground. Other Annabeth wondered is she was seeing Hero Percy in the god.

**he stumbled along until he was sure no one back at the cabins could possibly see him. Then he summoned fire. Flames danced along his fingertips, casting enough light to see. He hadn't tried to keep a sustained burn going since he was five, at that picnic table. Since his mom's death, he'd been too afraid to try anything. Even this tiny fire made him feel guilty.**

**He kept walking, looking for dragon-type clues - giant footprints, trampled trees, swaths of burning forest. Something that big couldn't exactly sneak around, right?**

Conner laughed, "that might be funny to see. A giant bronze dragon sneaking around, like hiding behind cabins, and stuff."

**But he saw ****_nada_****. Once he glimpsed a large, furry shape like a wolf or a bear, but it stayed away from the fire, which was fine by Leo.**

"Creepy," Rachel shivered, "I never liked going into the woods."

**Then, at the bottom of a clearing, he saw the first trap - a hundred-foot-wide crater ringed with boulders.**

**Leo had to admit it was pretty ingenious. In the center of the depression, a metal vat the size of a hot tub had been filled with bubbly dark liquid - Tabasco sauce and motor oil. One pedestal suspended over the vat, an electric fan rotated in a circle, spreading the fumes across the forest. Could metal dragons smell?**

Beckendorf shrugged, "never thought about it."

**The vat seemed to be unguarded. But Leo looked closely, and in the dim light of the stars and his handheld fire, he could see the glint of metal beneath the dirt and leaves - a bronze net lining the entire crater. Or maybe ****_see_**** wasn't the right word - he could sense it there, as if the mechanism was emitting heat, revealing itself to him. Six large strips of bronze stretched out from the vat like the spokes of a wheel. They would be pressure sensitive, Leo guessed. As soon as the dragon stepped on one, the net would spring closed, and ****_voila_**** - one gift-wrapped monster.**

**Leo edged closer. He put his foot on the nearest trigger strip. As he expected, nothing happened. They had to have set the net for something really heavy. Otherwise they could catch an animal, human, smaller monster, whatever. He doubted there was anything else as heavy as a metal dragon in these woods. At least, he hoped there wasn't.**

"There is," Original Annabeth reassured him.

**He picked his way down the crater and approached the vat. The fumes were almost overpowering, and his eyes started watering. He remembered a time when Tia Callida (Hera, whatever) had made him chop jalapenos in the kitchen and he'd gotten the juice in his eyes. Serious pain. But of course she'd been like, "Endure it, little hero. The Aztecs of your mother's homeland used to punish bad children by holding them over the fire filled with chili peppers. They raised many heroes that way."**

"Jeez," Poseidon grumbled, "you _really _want to scare him."

**A totally psycho, that lady. **

Hera frowned.

**Leo was so glad he was on a quest to rescue her.**

**Tia Callida would've loved this vat, because it was _way _worse than jalapeno juice. Leo looked for a trigger - something that would disable the net. He didn't see anything. **

**He had a moment of panic. Nyssa had said there were several traps like this in the woods, and they were planning more. What if the dragon had already stepped into another one? How could Leo possible find them all?**

**He continued to search, but he didn't see any release mechanism. No large button labeled _OFF_. It occurred to him that there might not _be _one. He started to despair - and then he heard the sound.**

"Great," Clarisse groaned, "what else could pop out and make things worse?"

**It was more of a tremor - the deep sort of rumbling you hear in your gut rather than your ears.**

"A vibration," Other Annabeth corrected him.

**It gave him the jitters, but he didn't look around from the source. He just kept examining the trap, thinking, _Must be a long way off. It's pounding its way through the woods. I gotta hurry._**

"Maybe just a little bit," Rachel said.

**Then he heard a grinding snort, like steam forced out of a metal barrel.**

"It's the dragon," Beckendorf sighed, "that's just perfect."

**His neck tingled. He turned slowly. At the edge of the pit, fifty feet away, two glowing red eyes were staring at him. The creature gleamed in the moonlight, and Leo couldn't believe something that huge had sneaked up on him so fast. Too late, he realized its gaze was fixed in the fire in his hands, and he extinguished the flames.**

**He could still see the dragon just fine. It was about sixty feet long, snout to tail, its body made of interlocking bronze plates. Its claws were the size of butcher knives, and its mouth was lined with hundreds of dagger-sharp metal teeth. Steam cam e out of its nostrils. It snarled like a chain saw cutting through a tree. It could've bitten Leo in half, easy, or stomped him flat.**

"Why didn't it?" Beckendorf asked aloud.

**It was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen, except for one problem that completely ruined Leo's plan.**

**"You don't have wings," Leo said.**

"Most Greek dragons don't," Athena told him.

**The dragon's snarl died. It tilted its head as if to say, _Why aren't you running away in terror?_**

**"Hey, no offense," Leo said. "You're amazing! Good god, who _made _you? Are you hydraulic or nuclear-powered or what? But if it was me, I would've put wings on you. What kind of dragon doesn't have wings? I guess maybe you're too heavy to fly? Is should've thought of that."**

"And he's talk to a dragon," Perseus grumbled. "Awesome. This book just keeps getting better and better."

**The dragon snorted, more confused now. It was supposed to trample Leo. This conversation thing wasn't part of the plan. It took a step forward, and Leo shouted, "No!"**

**The dragon snarled again. **

**"It's a trap, bronze brain," Leo said. "They're trying to catch you."**

**The dragon opened its mouth and blew fire. A column of white-hot flames billowed over Leo, more than he'd ever tried to endure before. He felt as if he were being hosed down with a powerful, very hot fire hose. It stung a little, but he stood his ground. When the flames died, he was perfectly fine. Even his clothes were okay, which Leo didn't understand, but for which he was grateful. He liked his army jacket, and having his pants seared off would've been pretty embarrassing.**

"Yeah," Travis laughed, "walking back without pants in the middle of the night. That might look a little suspicious."

"Travis," Rachel grumbled. "You're strange."

**The dragon stared at Leo. Its face didn't actually change, being made of metal and all, but Leo thought he could read its expression: _Why no crispy critter? _**

Other Annabeth sighed, "that's not weird."

**A spark flew out of its neck like it was about to short-circuit. **

**"You can't burn me," Leo said, trying to sound stern and calm. He'd never had a dog before, but he talked to the dragon the way he thought you'd talk to a dog. "Stay, boy. Don't come any closer. I don't want you to get caught. See, they think you're broken and have to be scrapped. But I don't believe that. I can fix you if you'll let me -"**

"He won't go for it," Beckendorf said.

**The dragon creaked, roared, and charged. The trap sprang. The floor of the crater erupted with a sound like a thousand trash can lids banging together. Dirt and leaves flew, metal net flashing. Leo was knocked off his feet, turned upside down, and doused in Tabasco sauce and oil. He found himself sandwiched between the vat and the dragon as it thrashed, trying to fee itself from the net that had wrapped around them both.**

"Now _that _would suck!" Conner laughed.

"Just a little bit," Hephaestus looked grim.

**The dragon blew flames in every direction, lighting up the sky and setting trees on fire. Oil and sauce burning all over them. It didn't hurt Leo, but it left a nasty taste in his mouth. **

**"Will you stop that!" he yelled.**

**The dragon kept squirming. Leo realized he would get crush if he didn't move. It wasn't easy, but he managed to wriggle out from between the dragon and the vat. He squirmed his way through the net. Fortunately the holes were plenty big enough to for a skinny kid.**

**He ran to the dragon's head. It tried to snap at him, but its teeth were tangled in the mesh. It blew fire again, but seemed to be running out of energy. This time the flames were only orange. They put out before they even reached Leo's face.**

**"Listen, man," Leo said,**

"Is that all he's going to do in this chapter?" Clarisse asked, "I thought there was going to be something more exciting than talking to the thing."

**"you're just going to show them where you are. then they'll come and break out the acid and metal cutters. Is that what you want?"**

**The dragon's jaw made a creaking sound, like it was truing to talk.**

"See!" Clarisse yelled, "he's even imagining the dragon talk back to him! He's crazy!"

**"Okay, then," Leo said. "You'll have to trust me."**

**And Leo set to work.**

**It took him almost an hour to find the control panel. It was right behind the dragon's head, which made sense. He'd elected to keep the dragon in the net, because it was easier to work with the dragons constrained, but the dragon didn't like it.**

"No, really?" Percy said, "you're just digging around in its brains. I'm sure it loves it."

Original Annabeth scowled at Percy's comment. That Percy _defiantly_ wasn't like her Percy. He hardly even _looked _like him. Hero Percy was _way _more handsome. His hair was messier, which was cute in Original Annabeth's opinion, his eyes were more sea green instead of emerald green, and he didn't have the ugly scar that ran down the right side of his face.

**"Hold still!" Leo scolded.**

**The dragon made another creaking sound that might've been a whimper.**

**Leo examined the wires inside the dragon's head. He was distracted by a sound in the woods, but when he looked up it was just a tree spirit - a dryad, Leo thought they were called - putting out the flames in her branches. Fortunately, the dragon hadn't stared an all-out forest fire, but still the dryad wasn't too pleased. The girl's dress was smoking. She smothered the flames with a silky blanket, and when she saw Leo looking at her, she made a gesture that was probably very rude in Dryad. Then she disappeared in a green poof of mist.**

"Sounds like them," Conner pouted, "everytime I see them they glare at me."

"Probably because you've started so many fires in the woods from your pranks," Other Annabeth pointed out.

Conner sighed.

**Leo returned his attention to the wiring. It was ingenious, definitely, and it made sense to him. This was the motor control relay. They processed sensory input from the eyes. This disk...**

**"Ha," he said. "Well, no wonder."**

_**Creak?**_** the dragon asked with its jaw.**

**"You've got a corroded control disk. Probably regulates your higher reasoning circuits, right? Rusty brain, man. No wonder you're a little... confused." He almost said _crazy, _but he caught himself.**

"Yes," Apollo smirked, "you never want to insult a robot dragon."

**"I wish I had a replacement disk, but... this is a complicated piece of circuitry. I'm gonna have to talk it out and clean it. Only be a minute." He pulled out the disk, and the dragon went absolutely still. The glow died in its eyes. Leo slid off its back and began polishing the disk. He mopped up some oil and Tabasco sauce with his sleeve, which helped cut through grime, **

"Thanks for telling us."

**but the more he cleaned, the more concerned he got. Some of the circuits were beyond repair. He could make it better, but not perfect. For that, he'd need a completely new disk, and he had no idea how to build one.**

**He tried to work quickly. He wasn't sure how long the dragon's control disk could be off without damaging it - maybe forever - but he didn't want to take chances. Once he'd done the best he could, he climbed back up to the dragon's head and started cleaning the wiring and gearboxes, getting himself filthy in the process.**

"It's hard not to," Beckendorf related.

**"Clean hands, dirty equipment," he muttered, something his mother used to say. By the time he was through, his hands were black with grease and his clothes looked like he'd just lost a mud-wrestling contest, but the mechanisms looking a lot better. He slipped in the disk, connected the last wire, and sparks flew. The dragon shuddered. Its eyes began to glow.**

**"Better?" Leo asked.**

**The dragon made a sound like a high-speed drill. It opened its mouth and all its teeth rotated.**

"Gross," Silena murmured.

**"I guess that's a _yes. _Hold on, I'll free you."**

**Another thirty minutes to find the release clamps for the net and untangle the dragon, but finally it stood an shook the last but of netting off its back. It roared triumphantly and shot fire at the sky. **

**"Seriously," Leo said. "Could you not show off?"**

_**Creak?**_**the dragon asked.**

**"You need a name," Leo decided. "I'm calling you Festus." **

All the gods laughed a little, or at least creaked a smile.

"What?" Rachel asked.

"Festus means Happy, in Latin," Athena answered.

Conner and Travis started laughing, when all the other demigods just smiled.

"It's not _that _funny guys," Will said.

The Stolls didn't answer, they were too busy laughing.

**The dragon wirred its teeth and grinned.**

"Can metal dragons grin?" Will asked.

"Who knows," Beckendorf answered, "it's Leo."

**At least Leo hoped it was a grin.**

**"Cool," Leo said. "But we still have a problem, because you don't have wings."**

**Festus tilted his head and snorted steam. The hen lowered his back in an unmistakable gesture. He wanted Leo to climb on.**

"Yes, you just ride Happy the Dragon," Apollo snickered, "that's not weird."

**"Where we going?" Leo asked.**

**But he was too excited to wait for an answer. He climbed onto the dragon's back, and Festus bounded off into the woods. **

**Leo lost track of time and sense of direction. It seemed impossible the woods could be so deep and wild, but the dragon traveled until the trees were like skyscrapers and the canopy of leaves completely blotted out the stars. Even the fire in Leo's hands couldn't have lit the way, but the dragon's glowing red eyes acted like headlights.**

**Finally they crossed a stream and came to a dead end, a limestone cliff a hundred feet tall - a solid, sheer mass the dragon couldn't possibly climb.**

**Festus stopped at the base and lifted one leg like a dog pointing.**

**"What is it?" Leo slid to the ground. He walked up to the cliff - nothing but solid rock. The dragon kept pointing. **

"What's there?" Original Annabeth questioned.

"I don't remember anything being there," Other Annabeth agreed.

**"What is it?" Leo slid to the ground. He walked up to the cliff - nothing but solid rock. The dragon kept pointing.**

**"It's not going to move out of your way," Leo told him.**

**The loose wire in the dragon's neck parked, but otherwise he stayed still. Leo put his hand on the cliff. Suddenly his fingers smoldered. Lines of fire spread from his fingertips like ignited gunpowder, sizzling across the limestone. The burning lines raced across the cliff face until they had outlined a glowing red door five times as tall as Leo. He back up and the door swung open, disturbingly silently for suck a big slab of rock.**

"Okay," Original Annabeth said, "that's not strange, or scary, or weird. No, not at all."

**"Perfectly balanced," he muttered. "That's some first-rate engineering."**

**The dragon unfroze and marched inside, as if he were coming home.**

Hephaestus smiled.

**Leo stepped through, and the door began to close. He had a moment of panic, remembering that night in the machine shop long ago, when he'd been locked in. What if he got stuck in here? But then lights flickered on - a combination of electric fluorescents and wall-mounted torches. When Leo saw the cavern, he forgot about leaving.**

"Why didn't I find this?" Beckendorf asked. "I should have found that!"

**"Festus," he muttered. "What _is _this place?"**

**The dragon stomped to the center of the room, leaving tracks in the thick dust, and curled up on a large circular platform.**

**The cave was the size of an airplane hangar, with endless worktables and storage cages, rows of garage-sized doors along either wall, and staircases that led up to a network of catwalks high above. Equipment was everywhere - hydraulic lifts, welding torches, hazard suits, air-spades, forklifts, plus something that looked suspiciously like a nuclear reaction chamber. Bulletin board were covered with tattered, faded blueprints. And weapons, armor, shields - war supplies all over the place, a lot of them only partially finished.**

"It's like they just got up and left," Original Annabeth noticed.

**Hanging from chains far above the dragon's platform was an old tattered banner almost too faded to read. The letters were Greek, but Leo somehow knew what they said: _BUNKER 9_**

Hephaestus smiled, proudly.

**Did that mean nine as in the Hephaestus cabin, or nine as in there were eight others? Leo looked at Festus, still curled up on the platform, and it occurred to him that the dragon looked so content because it _was_ home. I had probably been built on that pad.**

"Nice observation," Other Annabeth complimented.

**"Do the other kids know...?" Leo's question died as he asked it. Clearly, this place had been abandoned for decades. Cobwebs and dust covered everything. The floor revealed no footprints except for his, and the huge paw prints of the dragon. He was the first one in this bunker since... since a long time ago.**

"Wow," Percy said sarcastically, "who would've known?"

**Bunker 9 had been abandoned with a lot of projects half finished on the tables. Locked up and forgotten, but why?**

**Leo looked at a map on the wall - a battle map of camp, but the paper was as cracked and yellow as onionskin. A date at the bottom read, 1864.**

"Wow," Beckendorf whistled, "that _was_ a long time ago."

**"No way," he muttered.**

**Then he spotted a blueprint on a nearby bulletin board, and his heart almost leaped out of his throat. He ran to the worktable and stared up at a white-line drawing almost faded beyond recognition: a Greek ship from several different angles. Faintly scrawled words underneath it read: _Prophecy? Unclear. Flight?_**

**It was the ship he'd seen in his dreams - the flying ship.**

**Someone had tried to build it here, or at least sketched out the idea. Then it was left, forgotten... a prophecy yet to come. And weirdest of all, the ship's masthead was exactly like the one Leo had drawn when he was five - the head of the dragon.**

**"Looks like you, Festus," he murmured. "That's creepy."**

"Yeah," Aphrodite shivered, "just a little."

**The masthead gave him an uneasy feeling, but Leo's mind spun with too many other questions to think about it for long. He touched the blueprint, hoping he could take it down to study, but the paper crackled at his touch, so he left it alone. He looked around for other clues. No boats. No pieces that looked like parts of this project, but there were so many doors and storerooms to explore.**

"There could be anything there!" Beckendorf sighed, "want I wouldn't give to be back there, just to look at that stuff."

Silena sighed, and squeezed his hand. "Same here," she agreed.

**Festus snorted like he was trying to get Leo's attention, reminding him they didn't have all night. It was true. Leo it would be morning in a few hours, and he'd gotten completely sidetracked. He'd saved the dragon, but it wasn't going to help him on the quest. He needed something that would fly.**

**Festus nudged something toward him - a leather tool belt that had been left next to his construction pad. Then the dragon switched on his glowing red eyes beams and turned them toward the ceiling. Leo looked up to where the spotlights were pointing, and yelped when he recognized the shapes hanging above them in the darkness. **

**"Festus," he said in a small voice. "We've got work to do."**

"So," Ares closed the book. "I am done reading, I will never read again. So who wants to read next?"

Original Annabeth sighed, "I will."

**END OF LEO 12**

* * *

** What did you guys think about the two updates today? I was bored and had nothing to do, so I've been writing since about 7:00 to 11:30, so I have school tomorrow so I kinda have to stop. **

**Review! I really love hearing your thoughts.**

**And just to clear things up again:**

**Other Annabeth: the Annabeth that is dating Hero Luke, and the one that hates Traitor Percy.**

**Original Annabeth: the Annabeth that is dating Hero Percy, and sorta hates Traitor Luke.**


	15. Jason 13

**So I'm sorry that the whole Annabeths (plural) thingy is annoying, and confusing. Sorry! I tried to make it as un-confusing as possible, but I kinda suck at that, in case you haven't noticed... But anyway, you'll just have to get used to it, I'm not changing it, and I'm sorry if I lost any readers because it got too confusing.**

**I'm not apologizing, but I am...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

** Jason dreamed of wolves.**

"Oh great," Original Annabeth sighed, "were reading about Jason now. Maybe I'll get to know if he's lying or not."

**He stood in a clearing in the middle of a redwood forest. In front of him rose the ruins of a stone mansion. Leo gray clouds blended with the ground fog, and cold rain hung in the air. A pack of large gray beasts milled around him, brushing against his legs, snarling and baring their teeth. They gently nudge him toward the ruins.**

"That's not terrifying," Clarisse murmured.

"Just a normal demigod dream," Will sighed, "we all get them."

"Not me," Rachel pointed out.

"Well your mortal," Other Annabeth said, "so you can't really get too many bad dreams."

Rachel shrugged, "sometimes I do."

"That's because your an oracle," Other Annabeth pointed out. "You still get a little bit, but not as much as we do."

"Thankfully," Rachel said.

**Jason had no desire to become the world's largest dog biscuit, so he decided to do what they wanted.**

**The ground squelched under his boots as he walked. Stone spires of chimneys, no longer attached to anything, rose up like totem poles. The house must've been enormous once, multi-storied with massive log walls and a soaring gabled roof, but now nothing remained but its stone skeletion. Jason passed under a crumbling doorway and found himself in a kind of courtyard.**

**Before him was a drained reflecting pool, long and rectangular. Jason couldn't tell how deep it was, because the bottom was filled with mist. A dirt path led all the way around, and the house's uneven walls rose on either side. Wolves paced under the archways of rough red volcanic stone.**

"Where is he?" Someone thought aloud.

**At the far end of the pool sat a giant she-wolf, several feet taller than Jason. Her eyes glowed silver in the fog, and her coat was the same color as the rocks - warm chocolaty red.**

**"I know this place," Jason said.**

"But of course," Luke grumbled, "he doesn't remember."

**The wolf regarded him.**

"How can wolves really "regard" people?" Travis asked.

"They look at you intently," Conner smiled, "that's not creepy."

**She didn't exactly speak, but Jason could understand her. The movements of her ears and whiskers, the flash of her eyes, the way she curled her lips - all of these were part of her language.**

"And why does he know that?" Original Annabeth asked.

"Because he's Roman," Athena answered her.

"What do you mean, Roman?" Original Annabeth asked.

_**Of course, **_**the wolf said. _You began your journey here as a pup. Now you must find your way back. A new quest, a new start._**

**"That isn't fair," Jason said. But as soon as he spoke, he knew there was no point complaining to the she-wolf.**

"Wait, wait." Original Annabeth said, putting the book down. "So Jason is Roman? But there are no more Romans."

"There are still Romans, Annabeth." Athena said slowly, "they live just like we live, as Greeks."

"Okay... so Jason is the son of... Jupiter?"

Athena nodded, "yes."

"Well," Original Annabeth sighed, "just another thing to give me nightmares."

**Wolves didn't feel sympathy. They never expected fairness. The wolf said: _Conquer or die. This is always our way._**

"Well," Other Annabeth frowned, "that sounds cruel."

**Jason wanted to protest that he couldn't conquer if he didn't know who he was, or where he was supposed to go. But he knew this wolf. Her name was simply Lupa, the Mother Wolf, the greatest of her kind.**

"Another monster thing to eat us," Will muttered, "great."

**Long ago she'd found him in this place, protected him, nurtured him, _chosen _him, but if Jason showed weakness, she would tear him to shreds. Rather than being her pup, he would become her dinner. In the wolf pack, weakness was not an option.**

**"Con you guide me?" Jason asked.**

**Lupa made a rumbling noise deep in her throat, and the mist in the pool dissolved.**

"Even more creepy stuff," Conner said.

**At first Jason wasn't sure what he was seeing. At opposite end of the pool, two dark spires had erupted from the cement floor like drill bits of some massive tunneling machines boring through the surface. Jason couldn't tell if the spires were made of rock or petrified vines, but they were formed of thick tendrils that came together in a point at the top. Each spire was about five feet tall, but they weren't identical. The one closest to Jason was darker and seemed like a solid mass, its tendrils fused together. As he watched, it pushed a little farther out of the earth and expanded a little wider.**

"What's wrong with this chapter?!" Clarisse asked, "it's creepy, and it's making my brain try to eat itself!"

"Of course this is the chapter that _I _have to read," Original Annabeth grumbled.

**On Lupa's end of the pool, the second spire's tendrils were more open, like the cares of a cage. Inside, Jason could vaguely see a misty figure struggling, shifting within its confines.**

**"Hera," Jason said.**

**The she-wolf growled in agreement.**

"See," Original Annabeth said, "even animals hate you."

**The other wolves circled the pool, their fur standing up on their back as they snarled at the spires.**

_**The enemy has chosen this place to awaken her most powerful son, the giant king, **_**Lupa said. _Our sacred place, where demigods are claimed - the place of death or life. The burned house. The house of the wolf. It is an abomination. You must stop her._**

**"Her?" Jason was confused.**

"So are we," Will said.

**"You mean, Hera?"**

**The she-wolf gnashed her teeth impatiently. _Use your sense, pup. I care nothing for Juno, but if she falls, our enemy wakes. And that will be the end for all of us. You know this place. You can find it again. Cleanse our house. Stop this before it is too late._**

**The dark spire grew slowly larger, like the bulb of some horrible flower. Jason sensed that if it ever opened, it would release something he did _not _want to meet.**

"No," Zeus shuddered, "no you wouldn't."

**"Who am I?" Jason asked the she-wolf. "At least tell me that."**

"It's might make all of us feel better."

**Wolves don't have much of a sense of humor, but Jason could tell the question amused Lupa, as if Jason were a cub just trying out his claws, practicing to be the alpha male.**

_**You are our saving grace, as always. **_**The she-wolf curled her lip, as if she had just made a clever joke. _Do not fail, son of Jupiter._**

"Why would that amuse her?" Original Annabeth asked, looking over the pages as if the answer would just jump out at her if she looked at it at the exactly right place. She just had to find what that place was.

"It might tell later," Zeus snapped, "continue reading."

"The chapters over with," Original Annabeth said. Closing the book, and holding it up. "Who's reading next?"

Poseidon raised his hand, "I'm sick of sitting here doing nothing."

**END OF JASON 13**

**That seriously took me like and hour to write (which might sound like a lot, but it was like the shortest chapter ever!) I wasn't thinking about updating today, but this was so short that I will. **

**But I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up, I have to start practicing for my festival in two weeks... It's a music festival, I play trumpet. And my band is going to a competition, and I'm super nervous about it (that's probably why I'm writing so much, trying to get my mind off it.)**

**Okay! Bye!**


	16. Jason 14

**Thanks to all the support that I've gotten, I really couldn't do it without you guys. And I am playing in my High School band, and the songs that I'm playing are like "Eagle Point Overture," and "Freedom," they're both really good songs, but I doubt any of you know them. Still! Thanks for all the good lucks! I'll make you guys proud! 3**

**WRITING! MOO! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

**JASON 14**

**Jason woke to the sound of thunder.**

Poseidon paused, and glanced over at his brother.

"What?" Zeus asked.

"I'm just wondering if you got pissed again, about something stupid, so now your going to destroy the world with a mega storm." Poseidon said.

"Oh, please," Zeus scoffed. "I'm not _that _dramatic."

"Could have fooled me," Hades mumbled under his breath.

**The he remembered where he was. It was always thundering in Cabin One.**

"Told you it wasn't me," Zeus hissed.

"No, it was just your cabin."

**Above his cot, the domed ceiling was decorated with a blue-and-white mosaic like a cloudy sky. The cloud tiles shifted across the ceiling, changing from white to black. Thunder rumbled through the room, and gold tiles flashed like veins of lightning.**

"That's sounds like someone over did things," Artemis smirked.

**Except for the cot that the other campers had brought him, the cabin had no regular furniture - no chairs, tables, or dressers. As far as Jason could tell, it didn't even have a bathroom.**

"At least _my_ cabin _had _bunks in it," Poseidon grumbled. "I'm nice to my children."

"You mean the child that you were forbidden to have?" Zeus said, "because _I _do, and I think everyone else in this room does."

"Still."

**The walls were carved with alcoves, each holding a bronze brazier or a golden eagle statue on a marble pedestal. In the center of the room, a twenty-foot-tall, full-color statue of Zeus in classic Greek robes stood with a shield at his side and a lightning bolt raised, ready to smite somebody.**

"_Completely_, over done." Artemis laughed, "a little self centered father?"

Zeus scowled.

**Jason studied the statue, looking for anything he had in common with the Lord of the Sky. Black hair? Nope. Grumbly expression? Well, maybe. Beard? No thanks. In this robes and sandals, Zeus looked like a really buff, angry hippie.**

"He is Jupiter's," Zeus scowled, "he's not my son."

Poseidon laughed, "now," he said, "has Percy ever insulted me?"

"Shut up," Zeus pouted. "I hate you."

"You sound like your five," Hades smirked.

"I hate you, also."

"Fair enough."

**Yeah, Cabin One. A big honor, the other campers had told him. Sure, if you liked sleeping in a cold temple by yourself with Hippie Zeus frowning down at you all night.**

"Still," Other Annabeth said, "it's a huge honor considering that no one is ever allowed in there."

"We just wanted to see the inside," Travis said, "that's the only reason why we ever congratulate people."

**Jason got up and rubbed his neck. His whole body was stiff from bad sleep and summoning lightning. That little trick last night hadn't been as easy as he had let on.**

"Dude," Percy grumbled, "you don't think we knew that? You can't just summon a lightning bolt and not expect to be tired afterward. That's like me creating a giant tidal wave and not expecting to get light headed."

"Wait," Luke said, "you just said that it's hard for Jason to summon a bolt of lightning, like one bolt. But it's only a little bit harder for you to summon an entire giant wave? That's like totally uneven, dude."

"I'm just that powerful," Percy smirked, making his green eyes darken.

Other Annabeth laughed, "yeah, maybe when you were alive."

Percy's smirk faded, and he reached for his pen in his pocket.

Poseidon pointed his trident at his other reality son, "If you even uncap that weapon you will be blown into bits."

Percy's facial expression didn't change, but he brought his hands up from his pocket and leaned back in his chair.

**It had almost made him pass out.**

**Next to the cot, new clothes were laid out for him: jeans, sneakers, and an orange Camp Half-Blood shirt. He definitely needed a change of clothes, but looking down at his tattered purple shirt, he was reluctant to change. If felt wrong somehow, putting on the camp shirt. He still couldn't believe he belonged here, despite everything they'd told him.**

**He thought about his dream, hoping more memories would come back to him about Lupa, or that ruined house in the redwoods. He knew he'd been there before. The wolf was real. But his head ached when he tried to remember. The marks on his forearm seemed to burn.**

"I wonder why," Other Annabeth murmured.

**If he could find those ruins, he could find his past. Whatever was growing inside that rock spire, Jason had to stop it.**

**He looked at Hippie Zeus.**

"Again with that," Zeus grumbled, "he's a stupid child."

**"You're welcome to help."**

**The statue said nothing.**

**"Thanks, Pops," Jason muttered.**

**He changed clothes and checked his reflection in Zeus's shield.**

"Because he needs to be hot for Piper," Silena sighed, "that's so cute!"

**His face looked watery and strange in the metal, like he was dissolving in a pool of gold. Definitely he didn't look as good as Piper had last night after she'd suddenly been transformed.**

**Jason still wasn't sure how he felt about that.**

Original Annabeth smiled, "it seemed like he liked it pretty well. Calling her a "knockout" and stuff."

**He'd acted like an idiot, announcing in front of everyone that she was a knockout. Not like there'd been anything wrong with her _before. _Sure, she looked great after Aphrodite zapped her, but she also didn't look like herself, not comfortable with the attention.**

**Jason had felt bad for her. Maybe that was crazy, considering she'd just been claimed by a goddess and turned into the most gorgeous girl at camp. Everybody had started fawning over her, telling her how amazing she was and how obviously _she _should be the one who went on the quest - but that attention had nothing to do with who she was. New dress, new makeup, glowing pink aura, and _boom_: suddenly people liked her. Jason felt like he understood that.**

"He's just jealous," Aphrodite sighed.

**Last night when he'd called down lightning, the other campers' reactions had seemed familiar to him. He was pretty sure he'd been dealing with that for a long time - people looking at him in awe just because he was the son of Zeus.**

"Sounds like Percy," Original Annabeth laughed.

Poseidon had to agree.

**Treating him special, but it didn't have anything to do with _him. _Nobody cared about _him, _just his big scary daddy standing behind him with the doomsday bolt, as if to say, _Respect this kid or eat voltage!_**

"I've never said that for him," Zeus scuffed. "He's Jupiter's son, not mine. Thalia is the only child that I have."

The demigods from the different reality looked at him like he was crazy.

"What?"

"Thalia is dead," Other Annabeth explained. "She's been dead ever since I was seven!"

"What? No she isn't -"

"They're from a different reality," Athena told him again.

"I know that -" Zeus started.

"And maybe in their reality Thalia is still a tree because Perseus wasn't there to save her." Athena explained.

"What," Other Annabeth put her hands up. "So Hero Percy saved Thalia? How?"

Original Annabeth smiled.

"Percy, Annabeth, Tyson, Clarisse, and Grover got the Golden Fleece and brought it back to camp to cure Thalia's tree from Luke's poison -" Beckendorf said.

"You poisoned Thalia's tree!" Other Annabeth yelled at Luke.

Luke blushed, and looked at the ground, give a small nod.

"Not even Perseus would do something that cruel, she was your friend!" Other Annabeth scowled at Luke, like she had just realized the monster that he could be.

"And," Beckendorf continued, "when they put the Fleece on her tree, the tree was healed, and Thalia emerged from the tree."

Original Annabeth sighed and smiled, remembering the Sea of Monsters, traveling the sea with Percy seemed like a million years ago. When it was only three.

"Oh," Other Annabeth said, looking a little confused.

**After the campfire, when people started heading back to their cabins, Jason had gone up to Piper and formally asked her to come with him on the quest.**

**She'd still been in a state of shock, but she nodded, rubbing her arms, which must've been cold in that sleeveless dress.**

**"Aphrodite took my snowboarding jacket," she muttered.**

"Oh that dress looks much better on you, darling!" Aphrodite cooed, "I'm doing you a favor."

**"Mugged by my own mom."**

"We've all been," Silena looked up at her mother, who was now doing her makeup in a portable mirror.

**In the first row of the amphitheater, Jason found a blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders. "We'll get you a new jacket," he promised.**

"Well," Other Annabeth said, "I have to admit that kinda cute."

**She managed a smile. He wanted to wrap his arms around her, but he restrained himself. He didn't want her to think he was a shallow as everyone else - trying to make a move on her because she'd turned beautiful.**

**He was glad Piper was going with him on the quest. Jason had tried to act brave at the campfire, but it was just that - an act. The idea of going up against an evil force powerful enough to kidnap Hera scare him witless, especially since he didn't even know his own past. He'd need help, and it felt right: Piper should be with him. But things were already complicated without figuring out how much he liked her, and why. He'd already messed with her head enough.**

"Maybe just a little," Original Annabeth said sadly, like she knew what it felt like to be confused about who she liked. Other Annabeth wondered what happened to her that made her think like that.

**He slipped on his new shoes, ready to get out of that cold, empty cabin. Then he spotted something he hadn't noticed the night before. A brazier had been moved out of one of the alcoves to create a sleeping niche, with a bedroll, a backpack, even some pictures taped to the wall.**

"Thalia must have left her stuff there," Original Annabeth said, "I thought she'd cleaned everything out."

**Jason walked over. Whoever he slept here, it had been a long time ago. The bedroll smelled musty. The backpack was covered with a thin film of dust. Some of the photos once taped to the wall had lost their stickiness and fallen to the floor.**

**One picture showed Annabeth -**

Original Annabeth smiled, "I didn't know she still had those."

**much younger, maybe eight, but Jason could tell it was she: same blond hair and gray eyes, same distracted look like she was thinking a million things at once. She stood next to a sandy-haired guy about fourteen or fifteen, with a mischievous smile and ragged leather armor over a T-shirt.**

Luke looked up, and smiled faintly. Annabeth locked eyes with him, she tried to give him a small smile. Something to tell him that she wasn't mad at him anymore, that she forgave him. But he looked away before she could give him the sign. She frowned and sighed.

**He was pointed to an alley behind them, like he was telling the photographer, _Let's go meet things in a dark alley and kill them!_**

Luke gave a husky laughed, "that was pretty much our whole lives back then."

**A second photo showed Annabeth and the same guy sitting at a campfire, laughing hysterically.**

Original Annabeth sighed, and saw the sad look on Luke's face. She knew that he regretted ever trying to hurt her or Thalia, he was mislead. Original Annabeth glanced up at Hermes, who hasn't said much since she got there, but he gave her a look that said: _tell him, it'll make him feel better._ She nodded.

"Luke," she called over to him.

He looked up, but didn't meet her eyes.

Original Annabeth sighed, "you know I'm not mad at you. I forgave you, I forgave you before the war was even over." She sighed, "Percy isn't even mad at you. _He _even forgave you. I-I miss you Luke, so stop mopping and start being yourself again."

Luke didn't say anything, just looked at her. The sadness in his eyes loosened though, and he smiled at her.

**Finally Jason picked up one of the photos that had fallen. It was a strip of pictures like you'd take in a do-it-yourself photo booth: Annabeth and the sandy-haired guy, but with another girl between them. She was maybe fifteen, with black hair - choppy like Piper's - a black leather jacket, and silver jewelry, so she looked kind of goth; but she was caught mid laugh, and it was clear she was with her two best friends.**

Original Annabeth and Luke smiled at the memories.

**"That's Thalia," someone said.**

**Jason turned.**

**Annabeth was peering over his shoulder. Her expression was sad, like the picture brought back hard memories. "She's the other child of Zeus who lived here - but not for long. Sorry, I should have knocked."**

"Maybe just a little," Luke smirked.

**"It's fine," Jason said. "Not like I think of this place as home."**

**Annabeth was dressed for travel, with a winter coat over her camp clothes, her knife at her belt, and a backpack across her shoulder.**

"So the exact same thing that she's wearing now," Rachel pointed out.

**Jason said, "Don't supposed you've changed your mind about coming with us?"**

"No, no I did not." Annabeth explained.

"She has more important things to worry about," Silena said, "her lover is missing."

**She shook her head. "You got a good team already. I'm off to look for Percy."**

Original Annabeth felt a gab in her stomach. She wasn't even close to forgetting about the worry she was feeling over her boyfriend, but sitting here had kept her mind off of the pain for a little while, making it easier to endure. But just hearing his name brought back all the feelings and thoughts that have been running through her mind since she woke up to find him gone.

**Jason was a little disappointed. He would've appreciated having somebody on the trip who knew what they were doing.**

"Everyone has to start somewhere," Other Annabeth said.

**So he wouldn't feel like he was leading Piper and Leo off a cliff.**

**"Hey, you'll be fine," Annabeth promised. "Something tells me that isn't your first quest."**

"Great," Percy grumbled, "that's all they need. Not only is it he a Roman son of Jupiter, but he's also an experienced son of Jupiter."

**Jason had a vague suspicion she was right, but that didn't make him feel any better. Everyone seemed to think he was so brave and confident, but they didn't see how lost he really felt. How could they trust him when he didn't even know who he was?**

"Good point," Luke said.

**He looked at the pictures of Annabeth smiling. He wondered how long it had been since she'd smiled.**

Original Annabeth looked at the ground.

**She must really like this Percy guy to search for him so hard,**

"You have no idea," Silena said. "They've been, like, together since they were twelve."

"Actually," Beckendorf said, "They've been friends since they were twelve, but only together since they were -"

"August 18th," Original Annabeth answered, "Percy's 16th birthday."

"So yeah," Silena said, "they like can't do anything without each other."

"He's like the other part of me," Original Annabeth corrected. "We can do things by ourselves, but we prefer to do things together. Still, it's hard without him."

Percy felt oddly awkward listening to them. Even though he knew they weren't talking about _him. _He could tell how the Other him could like Original Annabeth. She seemed to be different then Other Annabeth. Original Annabeth more bold, you could tell by the way that she has sent insults at Hera, the freakin queen of Olympus, and didn't even care. When, Other Annabeth sat in the couch, almost sinking in the cushions. She was quieter, not daring to say what she thought unless it was to insult him. Original Annnabeth sat with her head up, looking at everything with a distant look.

She talk to everyone like they were _people. _When Other Annnabeth looked at Percy like he was a three week old taco that had been hidden under a bed, Original Annabeth looked at him with a mixture of confusion and pride. Percy knew that she saw _her _Percy in him, just like Poseidon had. But unlike the god she didn't seem to change her opinion of him when he said something cruel. She would just frown at him with the same look in her eyes. But that frown almost wasn't even a frown, when she frowned she didn't seem angry, her eyes twinkled. Like she was just frowning for show. Still, the twinkle in her eyes were sad. Percy could see why the Hero him would like Original Annabeth.

He made a mental note to watch her.

**and that made Jason a little envious.**

"What?" Rachel asked, "you probably want an entire camp coming to look for you too."

**Was anyone searching for** **_him_ right now?**

"Maybe no one likes him," Silena said, "maybe with is memory he's a complete jerk."

"Or maybe no one can find him," Rachel added.

**What if somebody cared for _him _that much and was going out of her mind with worry, and he couldn't even remember his old life?**

"Does he have another girlfriend?" Other Annabeth asked Aphrodite.

"No," Aphrodite said, "I check before letting Piper like him. There was only this friend that was a girl, but he doesn't like her like that."

**"You know who I am," he guessed. "Don't you?"**

**Annabeth gripped the hilt of her dagger. She looked for a chair to sit on, but of course there weren't any.**

"We seriously need to furnish that cabin," Hera muttered to her husband.

Zeus sighed, "whatever."

**"Honestly, Jason.. I'm not sure. My best guess, you're a loner. It happens sometimes. For some reason or another, the camp never found you, but you survived anyway by constantly moving around. Trained yourself to fight. Handled the monsters on your own. You beat the odds."**

"But that doesn't explain his memory loss," Will pointed out to Original Annabeth.

She shrugged, "that's the only thing that really doesn't make sense."

**"The first thing Chiron said to me," Jason remembered, "was _you should be dead._"**

**"That could be why," Annabeth said. "Most demigods would never make it out on their own."**

"Yeah," Luke said, "but he wouldn't just say that as soon as he saw him. Not unless he was sure that he should be dead."

Original Annabeth sighed, "sorry, I was just thinking aloud."

**"And a child of Zeus - I mean, it doesn't get any more dangerous than that. The chances of your reaching age fifteen without finding Camp Half-Blood or dying - microscopic. But like I said, it does happen. Thalia ran away when she was young. She survived on her own for years. Even took care of me for a while. So maybe you were a loner too."**

**Jason held out his arm. "And these marks?"**

"And that's another thing that doesn't make any sense." Rachel said.

**Annabeth glanced at the tattoos. Clearly, they bothered her. "Well, the eagle is the symbol of Zeus, so that makes sense. The twelve lines - maybe they stand for years, if you'd been making them since you were three years old. SPQR - that's the motto of the old Roman Empire: _Sematus Populusque Romanus, _the Senate and the People of Rom. Though why you would burn that on your own arm, I don't know. Unless you had a _really _harsh Latin teacher..."**

"He probably did," Percy said.

"And who would let a three year old get tattoos?" Beckendorf asked.

**Jason was pretty sure that wasn't the reason.**

"I do," Percy said again.

**It also didn't seem possible he'd been on his own his whole life. But what else made sense? Annabeth had been pretty clear - Camp Half-Blood was the only safe place in the world for demigods.**

**"I, um... had a weird dream last night," he said. It seemed like a stupid thing to confide, but Annabeth didn't look surprised.**

"Of course not," Original Annabeth said, "I get them all the time."

**"Happens all the time to demigods," she said. "What did you see?"**

**He told her about the wolves and the ruined house and the two rock spires. As he talked, Annabeth started pacing, looking more and more agitated.**

**"You don't remember where this house is?" she asked.**

"Yes," Percy said, "out of all the things he can't remember he just remembers and super creepy house."

**Jason shook his head. "But I'm sure I've been there before."**

**"Redwoods," she mused. "Could be northern California. And the she-wolf... I've studied goddesses, spirits, and monsters my whole life. I've never heard of Lupa."**

"Not in Greek mythology," Athena informed, "be she plays a vital role in Roman mythology."

**"She said the enemy was a 'her.' I thought maybe it was Hera, but -"**

**"I wouldn't trust Hera, but I don't think she's the enemy. And that thing rising out of the earth -"**

"Surprising that you'd stand up for me, Annabeth," Hera said to Original Annabeth.

Original Annabeth shrugged, "I stand up for the right answer."

**Annabeth's expression darkened. "You've to stop it."**

**"You know what it is, don't you?" he asked. "Or at least you've got a guess. I saw your face last night at the campfire. You looked at Chiron like it was suddenly dawning on you, but you didn't want to scare us."**

"It's easy to scare a camp full of demigods that just finished a entire war," Original Annabeth said.

**Annabeth hesitated. "Jason, the thing about prophecies... the more you know, the more you try to change them, and that can be disastrous. Chiron believes it's better that you find your own path, find our things in your own time. If he's told me everything he knew before my first quest with Percy..."**

"If he did them same thing with me," Other Annabeth said, "I would have never gone with Luke. And he'd probably be dead."

Original Annabeth nodded. "And we'd never would be as close as we are now."

**"I've got to admit, I'm not sure I would've been able to go through with it. For your quest, it's even more important."**

**"That bad, huh?"**

**"Not if you succeed. At least... I hope not."**

**"But I don't even know where to start. Where am I supposed to go?"**

**"Follow the monsters," Annabeth suggested.**

**Jason thought about that. The storm spirit who'd attacked him at the Grand Canyon had said he was being recalled to his boss. If Jason could track the storm spirits, he might be able to find the person controlling them. And maybe that would lead him to Hera's prison.**

"You know what I just realized," Poseidon paused, "no one cares that Hedge was taken. They're too busy worrying about themselves."

"More like they're too worried about _your _son." Athena pointed out.

"Still," Poseidon grumbled.

**"Okay," he said. "How do I find storm winds?"**

**"Personally, I'd ask the wind god," Annabeth said. **

"Not Aeolus," Hermes groaned, "that guy is a pain. He never tips me when I bring him his mail!"

"Seriously?" Artemis said, "you don't like he because he doesn't _tip _you?"

"Well," Hermes scowled, "why do _you _hate him."

"Who says that she hates him -" Apollo started.

"Everyone hates him," Athena answered for Artemis.

"He's a pervert to my hunters," Artemis frowned. "I hate him, he's almost worst than Apollo."

"Hey," Apollo said, "I'm not a pervert, I flirt with your hunters but I'm _not _a perv."

"Whatever brother dear," Artemis rolled her eyes.

**"Aeolus is the master of all the winds, but he's a little... unpredictable."**

"'Unpredictable?'" Hermes asked, "That's what you called him?"

"Well," Original Annabeth defended, "he _is _a god. And I am a demigod. He can mess with me!"

"True," Hermes nodded.

**"No one finds him unless he wants to be found. I'd try one of the four seasonal winds gods that work for Aeolus. The nearest one, the one who has them most dealings with heroes, is Boreas, the North Wind."**

"He's in Canada," Other Ananbeth said. "But he might just help."

**"So if I looked him up on Google maps -"**

**"Oh, he's not hard to find," Annabeth promised. "He settled in the North American like all the other gods. So of course he picked the oldest northern settlement, about as far north as you can go."**

**"Maine?" Jason guessed.**

"That actually is a good guess."

**"Farther."**

**Jason tried to envision a map. What was farther north than Maine? The oldest northern settlement...**

**"Canada," he decided. "Quebec."**

"Maybe he's not too stupid," Athena said. "Still smarter than Perseus."

"Mother," Original Ananbeth scowled, "please, don't."

"Well it's true," was the goddesses only comment.

**Annabeth smiled. "I hope you speak French."**

**Jason actually felt a spark of excitement. Quebec - at least now he had a goal.**

"A freezing cold goal."

**Find the North Wind, track down the stormy spirits, find out who they worked for and where that ruined house was. Free Hera. All in four days. Cake.**

**"Thanks, Annabeth." He looked at the photo booth pictures in his hand. "So, um... you said it was dangerous being a child of Zeus. What ever happened to Thalia?"**

**"Oh, she's fine," Annabeth said. "She became a Hunter of Artemis - one of the handmaidens of the goddess. They roam around the country killing monsters. We don't see them at camp very often."**

"They try to stay away from boys,' Artemis added.

**Jason glanced over at the huge statue of Zeus. He understood why Thalia had slept in this alcove. It was the only place in the cabin not in Hippie Zeus's line of sight. And ever that hadn't been enough. She'd chosen to follow Artemis and be part of a group rather than stay in this cold drafty temple alone with her twenty-foot-tall dad - _Jason's dad - _glowering down at her. _Eat voltage! _Jason didn't have any trouble understanding Thalia's feelings. He wondered if there was a Hunters group for guys.**

"That's a great idea!" Apollo laughed. "I should start the Apollo... um, the Apollo..."

Artemis sighed, "The Apollo Idiots?"

"No, no. Something more original."

"The Apollo Artists?" Poseidon thought.

Apollo smiled, "Yes! That's it! Your awesome Uncle P!"

Artemis shot Poseidon a glare, Poseidon shrugged. "I help the needy," was all he said.

"Okay," Apollo said, "who wants to be the first member?"

No one said anything.

"Whatever," Apollo waved them off, "you'll regret your choices."

**"Who's the other kid in the photo?" he asked. "The sandy-haired guy."**

**Annabeth's expression tightened. Touchy subject.**

**"That's Luke," she said. "He's dead now."**

**Jason decided it was best not to ask more, but the way Annabeth said Luke's name, he wondered if maybe Percy Jason wasn't the only boy Annabeth had ever liked.**

All the Other Reality people looked at her.

"Is that, true?" Other Annabeth asked.

Luke was sitting there looked awkward. He knew that Original Annabeth used to like him, and maybe still did a little. Luke didn't want to admit that he started to really like her after he left Camp. He didn't think that he liked her when he was there, but after being away from her for a couple years. Seeing her grow up, she started to get more and more beautiful. And Luke found himself missing her after she'd leave. But during that time, he watched her and Percy get closer, and he knew that they liked each other.

Original Annabeth blushed, "I really can't remember... I think when I was twelve I did have a little bit of a crush on him. But now, I only like Percy."

"Correction," Silena said, "you only _love _Percy."

"Love is a big word, "Athena muttered.

"No it's not," Aphrodite said, "there's only four letters in it. A big word would have like twelve."

**He focused again on Thalia's face. He kept thinking this photo is important. He was missing something.**

**Jason felt a strange sense of connection to this other child of Zeus - **

"Well, they _are_ half brother and sister," Rachel said.

**someone who might understand his confusion, maybe even answer some questions. But another voice inside him, an insistent whisper, said: _Dangerous. Stay away._**

**"How old is she now?" he asked.**

**"Hard to say. She was a tree for a while. Now she immortal."**

**"What?"**

"Yeah, that is totally confusing," Perseus grumbled.

**His expression must've been pretty good, because Annabeth laughed. "Don't worry. It's not something all children of Zeus go through. It's a long story, but... well, she was out of commission for a long time. If she'd aged regularly, she'd be in her twenties now, but she still looks the same as in that picture, like she's about... well, your age. Fifteen or sixteen?"**

**Something the she-wolf had said in his dream nagged as Jason. He found himself asking. "What's her last name?"**

**Annabeth looked uneasy. "She didn't use a last name, really. If she had to, she'd use her mom's, but they didn't get along. Thalia ran away when she was pretty young."**

**Jason waited.**

"Stubborn," Hades smirked, "maybe he is your son, Zeus."

**"Grace," Annabeth said. "Thalia Grace."**

**Jason's fingers went numb. The picture fluttered to the floor.**

"Why?" Will asked, "why is Thalia's name that big of a deal to him?"

**"You okay?" Annabeth asked.**

**A shred of memory had ignited - maybe a tiny piece that Hera had forgotten to steal. Or maybe she'd left it there on purpose - just enough for him to remember that name, and know that digging up his past was terribly, terribly dangerous.**

_**You should be dead, **_**Chiron had said. It wasn't a comment about Jason beating the odds as a loner. Chiron knew something specific - something about Jason's family.**

"Okay," Luke said, "it just me or is this _really _confusing?"

**The she-wolf's words in his dreams finally made sense to him, her clever joke at his expense. He could imagine Lupa growling a wolfish laugh.**

**"What is it?" Annabeth pressed.**

**Jason couldn't keep this to himself. It would kill him, and he had to get Annabeth's help. If she knew Thalia, maybe she could advise him.**

**"You have to swear not to tell anyone else," he said.**

**"Jason -"**

**"Swear it," he urged. "Until I figure out what's going on, what this all means -" he rubbed the burned tattoo on his forearm. "You have to keep a secret."**

**Annabeth hesitated, but her curiosity won out. "All right. Until you tell me it's okay, I won't share what you say with anyone else. I swear on the River Styx."**

"Wow," Percy smiled, "when you swear you mean it."

Annabeth shrugged, "he was being serious."

**Thunder rumbled, even louder than usual for the cabin. **

_**You are our saving Grace, **_**the wolf had snarled.**

**Jason picked up the photo from the floor.**

**"My last name is Grace,"**

"What?" Other Annabeth said, "so Thalia and him are whole siblings?"

Original Annabeth nodded.

"Why didn't she tell me, we've been best friends since I was seven! She tells me everything."

"Same here," Original Annabeth said, "I don't get why she didn't trust me enough to tell me."

**he said. "This is my sister."**

**Annabeth turned pale. Jason could see her wrestling with dismay, disbelief, anger. She thought he was lying. His claim was impossible. And part of him felt the same way, but as soon as he spoke the words, he knew they were true.**

**Then the doors of the cabin burst open. Half a dozen campers spilled in, led by the bald guy from Iris, Butch.**

**"Hurry!" he said, and Jason couldn't tell if his expression was excitement or fear. "The dragon is back."**

"Good job Leo," Rachel muttered, "now your going to scare the entire camp with your pet dragon."

"Who wants to read next?" Poseidon asked.

"I guess I will," Zeus said.

**END OF JASON 14**


	17. Piper 15

**Here's another chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

** Piper woke up and immediately grabbed a mirror.**

"Jeez," Silena said, "she really doesn't like her makeover."

**There were plenty of those in the Aphrodite cabin. She sat on her bunk, looked at her reflection and groaned.**

**She was _still _gorgeous.**

"I don't get why she's complaining," Aphrodite muttered.

**Last night after the campfire, she'd tried everything. She messed up her hair, washed the makeup off her face, cried to make her eyes red. Nothing worked. Her hair popped back to perfection. The magic makeup reapplied itself. Her eyes refused to get puffy or bloodshot.**

**She would've changed clothes, but she had nothing to change into. The other Aphrodite camper offered her some (laughing behind her back, she was sure), but each outfit was even more fashionable and ridiculous than what she had on. **

**Now, after a horrible night's sleep, still no change. Piper normally looked like a zombie in the morning, but her hair was styled like a supermodel's and her skin was perfect. Even that horrible zit at the base of her nose, which she'd had for so many days she'd started to call it Bon, had disappeared.**

"Now _that's _sad," Aphrodite said.

**She growled in frustration and raked her fingers through her hair. No use. The do just popped back into place. She looked like a Cherokee Barbie.**

**From across the cabin, Drew called, "Oh honey, it won't go away." Her voice dropped with false sympathy. "Mom's blessing will last _at least _another day. Maybe a week if your lucky."**

**Piper gritted her teeth. "A _week?_"**

"Mine lasted for a week," Silena said. "Drew's only lasted for two." Silena snorted, "and _she _thinks that _she's _so special."

**The other Aphrodite kids - about a dozen girls and five guys - smirked and snickered at her discomfort.**

"Why are there so many girl and less than half guys?" Rachel asked.

Aphrodite shrugged, "I like girls better, so I tend to have more girls."

**Piper knew she should play cool, not let them get under her skin. She'd dealt with shallow, popular kids plenty of times. But this was different. There were her brothers and sisters, even if she had _nothing _in common with them, and how Aphrodite had managed to have so many kids to close in age... Never mind. She didn't want to know.**

Original Annabeth rolled her eyes, "tell me about it," she sent a look at her mother.

Athena blushed, and didn't answer.

**"Don't worry, hon." Drew blotted her fluorescent lipstick. "You're thinking you don't belong here? We couldn't agree more. Isn't that right, _Mitchell?_"**

**One of the guys flinched. "Um, yeah. Sure."**

**"Mmm-hmm." Drew took out her mascara and checked her lashes. Everyone else watched, not daring to speak. "So anyways, people, fifteen minutes until breakfast. The cabin's not going to clean itself! And Mitchell, I think you've learned your lesson. Right, sweetie? So you're on garbage patrol just for today, mm-kay? Show Piper how it's done, 'cause I have a feeling she'll have that job soon - if she survives her _quest_. Now, get to work, everybody! It's my bathroom time!"**

Silena scowled, "I hate how she orders everyone around like that! And poor Mitchell! He was my favorite brother, and look how he's treated when I'm gone! Gods!"

Beckendorf patted her back and tried to calm her down.

**Everybody started rushing around, making beds and folding clothe, while Drew scooped up her makeup kit, hair dryer, and brush and marched into the bathroom.**

**Someone inside yelped, and a girl about eleven was kicked out, hastily wrapped in towels with shampoo in her hair. **

**The door slammed shut, and the girl started to cry.**

Silena rubbed the bridge of her nose like she was starting to get a headache. "I'm so pissed at her right now, I don't even have words."

**A couple of older campers comforted her and wiped the bubbles out of her hair.**

**"Serious?" Piper said to no one in particular. "You let Drew treat you like this?"**

"Thanks Piper," Silena said, "at least someone sees the common sense."

**A few kids shot Piper nervous looks, like they might actually agree, but they said nothing.**

**The campers kept working, though Piper couldn't see why the cabin needed much cleaning. It was a life-sized dollhouse, with pink walls and white window trim. The lace curtains were pastel blue and green, which of course matched the sheets and feather comforters on all the beds.**

"That actually sounds... comfortable." Rachel decided.

**The guys had one row of bunks separated by a curtain, but their section of the cabin was just as neat and orderly as the girls'. Something was _definitely _unnatural about that. Every camper had a wooden camp chest at the foot of their bunk with their name painted on it, and Piper guessed that the clothes in each chest were neatly folded and color coordinated. The only bit of individualism was how the campers decorated their private bunk spaces. Each had slightly different pictures tacked up of whatever celebrities they thought were hot.**

"That sounds a lot like hell," Hades said, "and trust me, I live in hell."

"It sounds perfect to me," Aphrodite said. "I don't get why you guy are glaring at me so much. You're just angry because my children and more organized than any of yours. I raise good kids."

"Raising?" Hera said, "you were _never _around them to teach them _anything_! How could you have influenced their organization skills."

"I was more around then the rest of you." She huffed.

None of the gods said anything, but they knew that she was wrong.

**A few had personal photos, too, but most were actors or singers or whatever.**

**Piper hoped she might now see _The Poster. _It had been almost a year since the movie, and she thought by now surly everyone had torn down those old tattered advertisements and tacked up something newer.**

"What is she talking about now?" Percy grumbled.

"You really don't like her, do you." Original Annabeth noted.

"No! All she ever does is whine about how Jason doesn't remember her, and whine about who her life sucked, and whine about how pretty she looked. I mean what kind of girl whined about how _pretty _she is? It's stupid." Percy said, he rolled his eyes like it was obvious about how annoying Piper was.

"Well," Original Annabeth said, "it sounds like you whine too."

"How's that?"

"That's all you've been doing every time were on Piper's chapter."

Percy blushed and glared at Original Annabeth, he didn't say anything, but he knew that she was right.

**But no suck luck. She spotted one on the wall by the storage closet, in the middle of a collage of famous heartthrobs.**

**The title was lured red: _KING OF SPARTA. _Under that, the posted showed the leading man - a three-quarters shot of bare-chested bronze flesh, with ripped pectorals and six-pack abs.**

"He sounds hot," Aphrodite squealed.

**He was clad in only a Greek war kilt and a purple cape, sword in hand. He looked like he'd just been rubbed in oil, his short black hair gleaming and rivulets of sweat pouring off his rugged face, those dark sad eyes facing the camera as if to say, _I will kill your men and steal your women! Ha-ha!_**

**It was the most ridiculous poster of all time. Piper and her dad had a good laugh over it the first time they saw it. Then the movie made a bajillion dollars. The poster graphic popped up everywhere. Piper couldn't get away from it at school, walking down the street, even online. It became _The Poster, _the most embarrassing thing in her life. And yeah, it was a picture of her dad.**

"No wonder I thought he was hot," Aphrodite smiled.

"That's... really bad." Other Annabeth frowned.

Percy even found himself feeling bad for Piper.

**She turned away so no one would think she was staring at it. Maybe when everyone went to breakfast she could tear it down and they wouldn't notice. **

**She tried to look busy, but she didn't have any extra clothes to fold. She straightened her bed, then realized the top blanket was the one Jason had wrapped around her shoulders last night. She picked it up and pressed it to her face. It smelled of wood smoke, but unfortunately not of Jason. He was the _only _person who'd been genuinely nice to her after the claiming like he cares about how she felt, not just about her stupid new clothes. God, she'd wanted to kiss him, but he'd seemed uncomfortable, and almost scared of her. She couldn't really blame him. She'd been glowing pink.**

**"'Scuse me," said a voice by her feet. The garbage patrol guy, Mitchell, was crawling around on all fours, picking up chocolate wrappers and crumpled notes from under the bunk beds. Apparently the Aphrodite kids weren't on hundred percent neat freaks after all.**

"That's like cruel punishment." Rachel scowled.

**She moved out of his way. "What'd you do to make Drew mad?"**

**He glanced over at the bathroom door to make sure it was still closed. "Last night, after you were claimed, I said you might not be so bad."**

"That's crazy," Beckendorf scowled, "Drew's a absolute bit -"

Silena shot him a warming glance then looked up at her mother, who wasn't really paying attention, but her eyebrows perked up every time she heard one of her kids names. Even though she wouldn't admit that Drew was a total jerk to Piper, Aphrodite was ready to defend anyone.

Beckendorf nodded, and but still wanted to punch Drew in the throat.

**It wasn't much of a compliment, but Piper was stunned. An Aphrodite kid had actually stood up for her?**

"Mitchell is awesome," Silena said, "he doesn't agree with Drew."

**"Thanks," she said.**

**Mitchell shrugged. "Yeah, well. She where it got me. But for what it's worth, welcome to Cabin Ten."**

**A girl with blond pigtails and braces raced up with a pile of clothes in her arms. She looked around furtively like she was delivering nuclear materials.**

"It's Lacey," Silena smiled, remembering her favorite sister. Lacey was the one that Silena worried most about having her gone. And it just got worse when she found out that Drew was the counselor. Drew never liked Lacey.

**"I brought you these," she whispered.**

**"Piper, meet Lacy." Mitchell said, still crawling around on the floor.**

**"Hi," Lacy said breathlessly. "You _can _change clothes. The blessing won't stop you. This is just, you know, a backpack, some rations, ambrosia and nectar for emergencies, some jeans, a few extra shirts, and a warm jacket. The boots might be a little snug. But - well - we took up a collection. Good luck on your quest!"**

Aphrodite smiled.

**Lacy dumped the things on the bed and started to hurry away, but Piper caught her arm. "Hold on. At least let me thank you! Why are you rushing off?"**

**Lacy looked like she might shaker apart from nervousness. "Oh, well -"**

**"Drew might find out," Mitchell explained.**

**"I might have to wear the shoes of shame!" Lacey gulped.**

Silena shook her head sadly, and Beckendorf squeezed her hand.

**"That what?" Piper asked.**

** Lacy and Mitchell both pointed to the black shelf mounted in the corning of the room, like an altar. Displayed on it were a hideous pair of orthopedic nurse's shoes, bright white with thick soles.**

**"I had to wear them for a week once," Lacy whimpered. "They don't go with _anything_!"**

**"And there's worse punishments," Mitchell warned. "Drew can charmspeak, see? Not many Aphrodite kids have that power, but if she tried hard enough, she can get you to do some pretty embarrassing things. Piper, you're the first person I've seen in a long time who is able to resist her."**

Silena snorted, "_I _can resist her! That's why she wasn't counselor until I was dead!"

**"Charmspeak..." Piper remembered last night, the way the crowd at the campfire had swayed back and forth between Drew's opinion and hers. "You mean, like, you could talk someone into doing things. Or... giving you things. Like a car?"**

"She has charmspeak, doesn't she," Silena mumbled up to her mother.

Aphrodite just grabbed another fashion magazine and mumbled "Mmm-hmm."

**"Oh, don't give Drew any ideas!" Lacy gasped.**

**"But yeah," Mitchell said. "She could do that."**

**"So that's way she's head counselor," Piper said. "She convinced you all?"**

**Mitchell picked a nasty wad of gun from under Piper's bed. "Nah, she inherited the when Silena Beauregard died in the war."**

Silena looked down sadly, feeling guilt. Knowing that the only reason that her brothers and sisters were living in hell was because she had to try and kill that drakon.

**Drew was the second oldest. Oldest camper automatically gets the post, unless somebody with more years or more completed quests wants to challenge, in which case there's a duel, but that hardly ever happens. Anyway, we've been stuck with Drew in charge since August. She decided to make some, ah, _changes _ in the way the cabin in run."**

"Which means she wanted to be a evil dictator," Silena grumbled.

"Like Hitler," Luke mumbled.

_Or like you, _Original Annabeth thought but didn't say. Luke was just starting to get comfortable, and she didn't want to compromise that.

**"Yes, I did!" Suddenly Drew was there, leaning against the bunk. Lacy squeaked like a guinea pig and tried to run, but Drew put and arm out to stop her. She looked down at Mitchell. "I think you missed some trash, sweetie. You'd better make another pass."**

**Piper glanced toward the bathroom and saw that Drew had dumped everything from the bathroom waste bin - some pretty _nasty _things - all over the floor.**

"I just want to hurt her," Other Annabeth grumbled.

"Too bad," Aphrodite said, "you're not."

"She needs to be," Silena agreed with Other Annabeth, who gave her a reassuring smile.

**Mitchell sat up on his haunches. He glared at Drew like he was about to attack (which Piper would've paid money to see), but finally he snapped, "Fine."**

**Drew smiled. "See, Piper, hon, we're a good cabin here. A good family! Silena Beauregard, though... you could take a warning from her. She was secretly passing information to Kronos in the Titan War, helping the _enemy._"**

Silena looked like she was about ready to cry, she hung her head in shame. Beckendorf gathered her in a hug and held her there.

Luke sighed, knowing that it was _his _fault that Silena was ever a spy. And he wished he could take everything back.

**Drew smiled all the sweet and innocent, with her glittery pink makeup and her blow-dried hair luck and smelling like nutmeg. She looked like any popular girl from any high school. But her eyes were as cold as steel. Piper got the feeling Drew was looking straight into her soul, pulling out her secrets.**

_**Helping the enemy.**_

Silena started to weep into Beckendorf's shoulder.

**"Oh, none of the other cabins talk about it," Drew confided. "They act like Silena Beauregard was a hero."**

"That's because she was," Original Annabeth said, she rubbed Silena's back. "Percy especially thought so." Original Annabeth hoped that that would help her. She knew that Silena looked up to Percy, and she hoped that having Silena know that one of her best friends fought to the end because of her.

**"She sacrificed her life to make things right," Mitchell grumbled. "She _was_ a hero."**

Aphrodite looked down at Silena as she cried harder into her boyfriend's shoulder. Aphrodite was just starting to get that Drew _was_ crossing the line. Not only was she being a evil dictator but she was also talking bad about her sister, who was technically, dead. That was beyond mean, and even Aphrodite couldn't help but see that.

**"Mmm-hmm," Drew said. "Another day on garbage patrol, Mitchell. But _anyways, _Silena lost track of what this cabin is about. We match up cute couples at camp! Then we break them apart and start over!"**

"She's evil," Beckendorf said. "Anyone with their right mind wouldn't listen to her for relationship advise."

**"It's the best fun ever. We don't have any business getting involved in other stuff like wars and quests. _I _certainly haven't been on any quests. They're a waste of time!"**

"A waste of time my ass," Original Annabeth scowled. "People save your sorry butt _because _they go on quests. You owe quests your _life_!"

"Annabeth?" Rachel said softly, "your yelling at a book."

"Well," Orignal Annabeth said, "I would yell at Drew if she was here."

"Don't say that," Luke muttered, "she might be the next person to pop in."

**Lacy raised her hand nervously. "But last night you said you wanted to go on a -"**

**Drew glared at her, and Lacy's voice died.**

**"Most of all," Drew continued, "we certainly don't need our image tarnished by spies, do we, _Piper?_"**

"She thinks she's a spy now," Other Annabeth sighed.

**Piper tried to answer, but she couldn't. There was no way Drew could know about her dreams or her dad's kidnapping, was there?**

"Oh, great," Percy said. "She _is _a spy."

**"It's too bad you won't be around," Drew sighed. "But if you survive your little quest, don't worry, I'll find somebody to match up with you. Maybe one of those gross Hephaestus guys. Or Clovis? He's pretty repulsive."**

"I'm seriously starting to not like this girl," Hephaestus murmured.

**Drew looked her over with a mix of pity and disgust. "Honestly, I didn't think it was _possible _for Aphrodite to have an ugly child, but... who _was_ your father? Was he some sort of mutant, or -"**

**"Tristan McLean," Piper snapped.**

"She's screwed," Original Annabeth grumbled.

**As soon as she said it, she hated herself. She never, _ever_ played the "famous dad" card.**

"But she just did," Poseidon pointed out.

**But Drew had driven her over the edge. "My dad's Tristan McLean."**

**The stunned silence was gratifying for a few seconds, but Piper felt ashamed of herself. Everybody turned and looked at _The Poster, _her dad flexing his muscles for the whole world to see.**

"That's got to be _really _annoying." Rachel shivered, but she shared the feeling of having a popular dad, that had ties _everywhere._

**"Oh my god!" half the girls screamed at once.**

**"Sweet!" A guys said. "The dude with the sword who killed that other dude in the movie?"**

"Why is it so cool to see a guy kill another guy with a sword?" Original Annabeth said, "don't they see that all the time?"

"It's always better in the movies," Beckendorf said.

**"He is _so _hot for an old guy," a girl said, and then she blushed. "I mean I'm sorry. I know he's your _dad_. That's so weird!"**

**"It's weird, all right," Piper agreed.**

**"Do you think you could get me his autograph?" another girl asked.**

**Piper forced a smile. She couldn't say, _If my dad survives..._**

**"Yeah, no problem," she managed.**

**The girl squealed in excitement, and more kids surged forward, asking a dozen questions at once.**

**"Have you ever been on set?"**

**"Do you live in a mansion?"**

**"Do you have lunch with movie stars?"**

**"Have you had your rite of passage?"**

"Okay, that last one is weird." Percy said.

**The once caught Piper off guard. "Rite of what?" she asked.**

"I'm not the only one," Percy smirked.

**The girls and guys giggled and shoved each other around like this was an embarrassing topic.**

**"The rite of passage for an Aphrodite child," one explained.**

Silena had stopped crying and was now just leaning on Beckendorf's shoulder, her eyes red and her mascara running.

She groaned, "that stupid right of passage..."

**"You get someone to fall in love with you. Then you break their heart. Dump them. Once you do that, you've proven yourself worthy of Aphrodite."**

"I've never said that," Aphrodite mumbled. "Love isn't something you can just play around with -"

"You do," Poseidon said.

"Well, I can I am the goddess of love. But I only put the best together. And I never want them to break apart, I try to keep my couples together as long as I can. I might add a couple... others to mess with them. But that only makes love stronger." Aphrodite sighed, "love is like a game: You play it the best you can. Trying to get the right words, the right reactions, and the right feelings. Of course there's always going to be a little elements that will try to break them apart. Let it be a person, a misunderstanding, an event, anything! But if you make it out of that trouble, still together, still in the game, then you will only be closer together, aka a better couple."

Aphrodite sat up while she said that, like she's been waiting years to sight her little speech. She looked around after no one said a thing after a while. "What?"

Athena blinked like she didn't understand something, which of course hardly ever happens.

"I don't think I've ever heard you say something so... inspiring, and smart." She said, she looked like she was in a haze, and her eyes couldn't concentrate on anything.

"That actually makes sense, Aphrodite," Poseidon smiled at her. "Good job."

"At least it helps to know that Love knows what it's doing," Rachel said.

**Piper stared at the crowd to see if they were joking. "Break someone's hear on purpose? That's terrible!"**

**The others looked confused.**

**"Why?" a guy asked.**

**"Oh my god!" a girl said. "I bet Aphrodite broke your _dad's _heart! I bet he never loved anyone again, did he? That's so romantic! When you have your rite of passage, you can be just like Mom!"**

"I didn't mean to break Tristan," Aphrodite grumbled. "It just happened."

"Just like my dad," Silena whispered.

**"Forget it!" Piper yelled, a little louder than she'd intended. The other kids backed away. "I'm _not _breaking somebody's heart just for a stupid rite of passage!"**

**Which of course gave Drew a chance to take back control. "Well, there you go!" she cut in. "Silena said the same thing. She broke the tradition, fell in love with that Beckendorf boy, and _stayed _in love. If you ask me, that's why things ended tragically for her."**

Silena squeezed Beckendorf's hand, hoping to that it would reassure him that he wasn't the reason that they... well you know.

Aphrodite smiled proudly at Silena, "good job, Silena. You were right to not do that."

"Thanks Mom," Silena smiled.

**"That's not true!" Lacy squeaked, but Drew glared at her, and she immediately melted back into the crowd.**

**"Hardly matters," Drew continued, "because, Piper, hon, you couldn't break anyone's heart anyway. And this nonsense about you dad being Tristan McLean - that's _so _begging for attention."**

**Several kids blinked uncertainly.**

**"You mean he's _not _your dad?" one asked.**

**Drew rolled her eyes. "Please. Now, it's time for breakfast, people, and Piper here has to start that little quest. So let's get her packed and get her out of here!"**

**Drew broke up the crows and got everyone moving. She called them "hon" and "dear," but her tone made it clear she expected to be obeyed. Mitchell and Lacy helped Piper pack. They even guarded the bathroom while Piper went and changed into a better traveling outfit. The hand-me-downs weren't fancy - thank god - just well-worn jeans, a T-shirt, a comfortable winter coat, and hiking boot that fit perfectly. She strapped her dagger, Katoptris, to her belt.**

**When Piper came out, she felt almost normal again. The other campers were standing at their bunks while Drew came around and inspected. Piper turned to Mitchell and Lacy and mouthed, _Thank you. _Mitchell nodded grimly. Lacy flashed a full-braces smile. Piper doubted Drew had ever thanked them for anything. She also noticed that the _KING OF SPARTA _poster had been wadded up and thrown in the trash. Drew's orders, no doubt. Even though Piper had wanted to take the poster down herself, now she was totally steamed.**

**When Drew spotted her, she clapped in mock applause. **

"Let's just kill her," Silena muttered.

**"Very nice! Our little quest girl all dressed in Dumpster clothes again. Now, off you go! No need to eat breakfast with us. Good luck with... whatever. Bye!"**

**Piper shouldered her bag. She could feel everyone else's eyes on her as she walked to the door. She could just leave and forget about it. That would've been the easy thing. what did she care about this cabin, these shallow kids?**

"Not all of them are jerks," Silena defended.

**Except some of them tried to help her. Some of them had even stood up to Drew for her.**

"It sounds like she's planning something," Orignal Annabeth noticed. "She better punch Drew."

**She turned at the door. "You know, you don't have to follow Drew's orders."**

"Called it."

**The other kids shifted. Several glanced at Drew, but she looked to stunned to respond.**

**"Umm," one managed, "she's our head counselor."**

**"She's a tyrant," Piper corrected. **

"I'd say dictator," Rachel said, "just saying."

**"You can think for yourselves. There's got to be more to Aphrodite than _this._"**

**"More than this," one kid echoed.**

**"Think for ourselves," a second muttered.**

"She's charmspeaking them back," Silena translated.

**"People!" Drew screeched. "Don't be stupid! She's charmspeaking you."**

**"No," Piper said. "I'm just telling the truth."**

**At least, Piper thought that was the case. She didn't understand exactly how this charmpeaking business worked, but she didn't feel like she was putting any special power into her words. She didn't want to win an argument by tricking people. That would make her not better than Drew. Piper simply mean what she said. Besides, even if she tried charmspeaking, she had a feeling it wouldn't work very well on another charmspeaker like Drew.**

**Drew sneered at her. "You may have a little power, Miss Moves Star. But you don't know the first thing about Aphrodite. You have such great ideas? What do you think this cabin is about, then? Tell them. Then maybe I'll tell them a few things about _you,_ huh?"**

"She's so stupid," Rachel shook her head.

**Piper wanted to make a withering retort, but her anger turned to panic. She was a spy for the enemy, just like Silena Beauregard.**

Silena winced.

**An Aphrodite traitor. Did Drew know about that, or was she bluffing? Under Drew's glare, her confidence began to crumble.**

**"Not this," Piper managed. "Aphrodite is not about this."**

**Then she turned and stormed out before the other could see her blushing.**

**Behind her, Drew started laughing. "_Not this? _Hear that, people? She doesn't have a clue!"**

**Piper promised herself she would never _ever_ go back to that cabin. She blinked away her tears and stormed across the green, not sure where she was going - until she saw the dragon swooping down from the sky.**

"Alight," Zeus said, "of course I have to read the chapter with all the stupid girl drama in it."

"Drama is exciting at times," Aphrodite mushed, "but that drama was just evil."

"Who wants to read next?" Zeus raised the book.

"I will," Aphrodite said.

"Seriously?" Athena asked, "_you _want to read a _book?_"

Aphrodite shrugged, "the next chapter is Piper's, and I want to read about my daughter."

"Alright," Zeus gave her the book then shook his head, "we're just getting weirder and weirder now a days."

**END OF PIPER 15**


	18. Piper 16

**I hope you guys still like the story. I'm _really _loving how much you guys review! I love hearing your comments and ideas. I'm trying to keep you guys entertained, and I am seriously enjoying writing and updating. I think I update so quickly because your guys comments make me write faster. So the more you review the faster I update. **

**Just saying.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

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** PIPER 15**

**"Leo?" she yelled.**

**Sure enough, there he was, sitting atop a giant bronze death machine and grinning like a lunatic. Even before he landed, the camp alarm went up. A conch horn blew. All the satyrs stared screaming, "Don't kill me!"**

"That's not weird," Percy said.

**Half the camp ran outside in a mixture of pajamas and armor. The dragon set down right in the middle of the green, and Leo yelled, "It's cool! Don't shoot!"**

**Hesitantly, the archers lowered their bows. The warriors backed away, keeping their spears and swords ready. They made a loose wide ring around the metal monster.**

"Well that would be expected," Hades said.

**Other demigods hid behind their cabin doors or peeped out the windows. Nobody seemed anxious to get close.**

**Piper couldn't blame them. The dragon was huge. It glistened in the morning sun like a living penny sculpture - different shades of copper and bronze - a sixty-foot-long serpent with steel talons and drill-bit teeth and glowing ruby eyes. It had bat-shaped wings twice its length that unfurled like metallic sails, making a sound like coins cascading out of a slot machine every time they flapped.**

"He just made him cooler!" Beckendorf sighed, "I should have done that!"

Silena just smiled and patted his arm.

**"It's beautiful," Piper muttered.**

"And she's gone crazy," Luke said.

**The other demigods stared at her like she was insane.**

**The dragon reared its head and shot a column of fire into the sky. Campers scrambled away and hefted their weapons, but Leo slid calmly off the dragon's back. He held up his hands like he was surrendering, except he still had that crazy grin on his face.**

"That sounds scary," Other Annabeth said.

**"People of Earth, I come in peace!" he shouted. He looked like he'd been rolling around in the campfire. His hands were grease stained, and he wore a new tool belt around his waist. His eyes were bloodshot. his curly hair was so oily it stuck up in porcupine quills, and he smelled strangely of ****Tabasco sauce. **

"That boy needs to take a shower," Aphrodite wrinkled her nose.

**But he looked absolutely delighted. "Festus is just saying hello!"**

"He's officially crazy," Apollo said.

**"That thing is dangerous!" an Ares girl shouted, brandishing her spear. "Kill it now!"**

**"Stand down!" someone ordered.**

**To Piper's surprise, it was Jason. He pushed through the crowd, flanked by Annabeth and that girl from the Hephaestus cabin, Nyssa.**

**Jason gazed up at the dragon and shook his head in amazement. "Leo, what have you done?"**

**"Found a ride!" Leo beamed.**

"Well that's a little obvious," Percy grumbled.

**"You said I could go on the quest if I got you a ride. Well, I got you a class-A metallic flying bad boy! Festus can take us anywhere!"**

"Anywhere that he can fly," Luke pointed out.

**"It - has wings," Nyssa stammered. Her jaw looked like it might drop off her face.**

**"Yeah!" Leo said. "I found them and reattached them."**

**"But it never had wings. Where did you find them?"**

"And he probably wont want to tell them about Bunker 9," Beckendorf said, "even though it would make them so happy."

**Leo hesitated, and Piper could tell he was hiding something.**

**"In... the woods," he said. "Repaired his circuits, too, mostly, so no more problems with him going haywire."**

**"Mostly?" Nyssa asked.**

"Yeah, that might be a concern." Rachel said.

**The dragon's head twitched. It tilted to one side and a stream of black liquid - maybe oil, _hopefully _just oil - poured out of its ear, all over Leo.**

"That is _so _disturbing," Silena flinched.

**"Just a few kinks to work out," Leo said.**

**"But how did you survive...?" Nyssa was still staring at the creature in awe. "I mean, the fire breath..."**

"And then he wont want to tell them about his fire abilities," Beckendorf continued.

"Well would you if you thought that you'd killed our own _mother _with your powers?" Original Annabeth asked.

Beckendorf sighed and didn't answer.

**"I'm quick," Leo said. "And lucky. Now, am I on this quest, or what?"**

"I think bringing home a giant flying dragon will get you a spot on a quest," Luke smirked.

**Jason scratched his head. "You named his Festus?"**

"Of course Jason knows what Festus mean in Latin," Other Annabeth said.

**"You know that in Latin, 'festus' means 'happy?' You want us to ride off to save the world on Happy the Dragon?"**

"Sounds good to me!" Apollo said. "Maybe I should name the sun 'Happy!'"

Artemis sighed and shook her head, "your ridiculous."

**The dragon twitched and shuddered and flapped his wings. **

**"That's a yes, bro!" Leo said. "Now, um, I'd really suggest we get going, guys. I already picked up some supplies in the - um, in the woods. And all these people with weapons are making Festus nervous."**

**Jason frowned. "But we haven't planned anything yet. We can't just -"**

"Why not?" Original Annabeth said, "that's all I've ever done."

**"Go," Annabeth said. She was the only one who didn't look nervous at all. Her expression was sad and wistful, like this reminded her of better times. **

"I've been on lots of quests." Original Annabeth said.

**"Jason, you've only got three days until the solstice now, and you should never keep a nervous dragon waiting. This is certainly a good omen. Go!"**

**Jason nodded. Then he smiled at Piper. "You ready, partner?"**

**Piper looked at the bronze dragon wings shining against the sky, and those talons that could've shredded her to pieces.**

**"You bet," she said.**

"And that's the start of the quest!" Rachel said.

"Finally," Percy grumbled, "almost half way through the book and all that's happened is storm spirits, missing boyfriends, a magical beauty blessing, and a giant bronze dragon."

"You're seriously bringing me down with your negativity," Rachel said.

"Too bad," was his only comment.

**Flying on the dragon was the most amazing experience ever, Piper thought.**

**Up high, the air was freezing cold; but the dragon's metal hide generated so much heat, it was like they were flying in a protective bubble.**

"That's lucky," Hephaestus said.

**Talk about seat warmers! And the grooves in the dragon's back were designed like high-tech saddles, so they weren't uncomfortable at all. Leo showed them how to hook their feet in the chinks of the armor, like in stirrups, and use the leather safety harnesses cleverly concealed under the exterior plating. They sat single file: Leo in front, then Piper, then Jason, and Piper was very aware of Jason right behind her. She wished he would hold on to her, maybe wrap his arms around her waist; but sadly, he didn't.**

"Yeah," Aphrodite said, "what a shame."

**Leo used it all his life. The metal wings worked perfectly, and soon the coast of Long Island was just a hazy line behind them. They shot over Connecticut and climbed into the gray winter clouds.**

"That must be awesome!" Beckendorf smiled, "why couldn't _I _have found the wings, and then rode him into the sunset?"

"Your fine," Silena smiled at him.

**Leo grinned back at them. "Cool, right?"**

**"What if we get spotted?" Piper asked.**

"Hopefully the Mist," Athena said.

**"The Mist," Jason said. "It keeps mortals from seeing magic things. If they spot us, they'll probably mistake us for a small plane or something."**

**Piper glanced over her shoulder. "You sure about that?"**

**"No," he admitted. Then Piper saw he was clutching a photo in his hand - a picture of a girl with dark hair. **

**She gave Jason a quizzical looked, but he blushed and put the photo in his pocket. "We're making good time. Probably get there by tonight."**

"He has the photo of Thalia," Original Annabeth noted.

**Piper wondered who the girl in the picture was, but she didn't want to ask; and if Jason didn't volunteer the information, that wasn't a good sign. Had he remembered something about his life before? Was that a photo of his real girlfriend?**

"No," Other Annabeth said, "it's his sister. And he wasn't really remembering something from his old life... more like he was remembering something from his old, _old _life."

**Stop it, she thought. You'll just torture yourself.**

**She asked a safer question. "Where are we heading?"**

**"To find the god of the North Wind," Jason said. "And chase some storm spirits."**

"Well," Aphrodite said, "that's the end of the chapter."

"Really?" Original Annabeth said, "wow, that was a short one."

"So, who wants to read next?" Aphrodite asked.

"I will," Original Annabeth said.

**END OF PIPER 16**


	19. Leo 17

**The funny part about this chapter is that the characters are in Quebec Canada. Which I actually have been in. I live right next to the border between Canada and America, in Washington. And because of that, some of my friends are Canadian. They have actually lived in Quebec, the coolest part is that some of them even know a little French. **

**I just thought that was cool. **

**Comment if you've ever been in/close to Quebec. It would be cool to know the people that live near me actually read my stories!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything!**

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**LEO 17**

**Leo was totally buzzing.**

"This is going to be a long chapter," Original Annabeth groaned.

**The expression on everyone's faces when he flew the dragon into camp? Priceless! He thought his cabinmates were going to bust a lug nut.**

**Festus had been awesome too. He hadn't blowtorched a single cabin or eaten any satyrs, even if he did dribbled a little oil from his ear. Okay, a _lot _of oil. Leo could work on that later.**

"Shouldn't you work on it now?" Rachel asked, "considering your starting your huge quest to save Hera, and you have to ride him all the way to Quebec?"

**So maybe Leo didn't seize the chance to tell everybody about Bunker 9**

"Really?" Beckendorf rolled his eyes.

**or the flying boat design. He needed some time to think about all that. He could tell them when he came back.**

_**If**_** I come back, part of him thought.**

**Nah, he'd come back.**

"Glad he's positive," Silena laughed.

**He'd scored a sweet magic tool belt from the bunker, plus a lot of cool supplies now safely stowed in his backpack. Besides, he had a fire-breathing, only slightly leaky dragon on his side. What could go wrong?**

"That's what they all say," Hermes said, "then the monsters come."

_**Well the control disk could bust, **_**the bad part of him suggested. _Festus could eat you._**

"That would be entertaining," Ares smirked.

"No it wouldn't!'" Aphrodite and Hephaestus yelled at him.

**Okay, so the dragon wasn't _quite _as fixed as Leo might have let on. He'd worked all night attaching those wings, but he hadn't found an extra dragon brain anywhere in the bunker.**

"That might have been useful to at least tell them." Perseus sighed, he was starting to seriously get annoyed of these characters in the stories. And he wasn't afraid to tell the entire group what he was thinking about them. But even he could see their angry glares that they shot at him every time he talked.

**Hey, they were under the time limit!**

"Fine. I'll give him that," Beckendorf scowled.

**Three days until the solstice. They had to get going. Besides, Leo had cleaned the disk pretty well. Most of the circuits were still good. It would just have to hold together.**

**His bad side started to think, _Yeah, but what if -_**

**"Shut up, me," Leo said aloud.**

**"What?" Piper asked.**

**"Nothing," he said. "Long night. I think I'm hallucination. It's cool."**

"No! That's not cool!" Athena said, "if your hallucinating then you should probably take a nap!"

**Sitting in front, Leo couldn't see their faces, but he assumed from their silence that his friends were not pleased to have a sleepless, hallucination dragon driver.**

Original Annabeth paused to shake her head.

**"Just joking." Leo decided it might be good to change the subject. "So what's the plan, bro? You said something about catching wind, or breaking wind, or something."**

"You know that would be the part that would make Conner and Travis start talking," Other Annabeth said.

She looked over to where the brothers were supposed to be sitting, but instead they were lying over each other, sleeping. They snored in unison, and everyone wondered how they didn't notice them before now.

Other Annabeth shrugged, "at least their quiet."

"I guess they were still sleepy since lunch," Luke said.

**As they flew over New England, Jason laid out the game plan: First, find some guy named Boreas and grill him for information -**

**"His name is _Boreas?_" Leo had to ask.**

"He probably shouldn't say that when he's in the air," Luke pointed out.

**"What is he, the God of Boring?"**

"They are going to die," Luke said.

**Second, Jason continued, they had to find those venti that had attacked them at the Grand Canyon -**

**"Can we just call them storm spirits?" Leo asked. "Venti makes them sound like evil espresso drinks."**

"For some reason he sounds like Percy," Beckendorf said. "Calling things drinks and stuff."

Original Annabeth smiled and nodded, but then her eyes turned stormy as the worry came back and she continued to read before her throat closed up.

**And third, Jason finished, they had to find out who the storm spirits worked for, so they could find Hera and free her.**

**"So you want to look for Dylan, the nasty storm dude, _on __purpose,_" Leo said. "The guy who threw me off the skywalk and sucked Coach Hedge into the clouds."**

"What are they talking about," Silena asked, "who's Dylan?"

"Oh, right you popped in later," Rachel said. Then she explained what all had happened with Dylan and the storm spirits.

**"That's about it," Jason said. "Well... there may be a wolf involved, too. But I think she's friendly. She probably won't eat us, unless we show weakness."**

"Leo's screwed."

**Jason told them about his dream - the big nasty mother wolf and a burned-out house with stone spires growing out of the swimming pool.**

**"Uh-huh," Leo said. "But you don't know where this place is."**

**"Nope," Jason admitted.**

**"There's also giant's," Piper added. "The prophecy said _the giant's __revenge._"**

**"Hold on," Leo said. "Giants - like more than one? Why can't it be just one giant who wants revenge?"**

"This is going to be a _hard _war," Original Annabeth admitted.

**"I don't think so," Piper said. "I remember in some of the old Greek stories, there was something about an army of giants."**

**"Great," Leo muttered. "Of course, with our luck, it's an army. So you know anything else about these giants? Didn't you do a bunch of myth research for the movie with your dad?"**

**"Your dad's an actor?" Jason asked.**

"Wow," Silena laughed.

**Leo laughed.**

"That's scary," Beckendorf said.

**"I keep forgetting about you amnesia. Heh. Forgetting about amnesia."**

"I'll give him that one," Luke said, "that was kinda good."

**"That's funny. But yeah, her dad's Tristan McLean."**

"He probably won't even know who that is," Other Annabeth said.

**"Uh - Sorry, what was he in?"**

"Told yeah."

**"It doesn't matter," Piper said quickly.**

"She's sick of talking about her dad," Rachel said. "I would be too."

**"The giants - well, there were lots of giants in Greek mythology. But if I'm thinking of the right ones, they were bad news."**

"They _all _were bad news," Athena said.

**"Huge, almost impossible to kill. They could throw mountains and stuff. I think they were related to the Titans. They rose from the earth after Kronos lost the war - I mean the _first _Titan war, thousands of years ago - and they tried to destroy Olympus. If we're talking about the same giants -"**

"They're doing the same thing again," Other Annabeth realized.

**"Chiron said it was happening again," Jason remembered. "The last chapter. That's what he meant. No wonder he didn't want us to know all the details."**

**Leo whistled. "So... giants who can throw mountains. Friendly wolves that will eat us if we show weakness. Evil espresso drinks. Gotcha. Maybe this isn't the time to bring up my psycho babysitter."**

"Welcome to the world of being a demigod," Percy said annoyingly. "It sucks, and you usually die in horrible nasty ways."

Original Annabeth stopped.

It was a deja vu moment. So much that she felt tears welling up in her eyes.

That was the same thing that _her _Percy had said one night so many years ago. They were sitting around the campfire, and Percy and Original Annabeth were about fourteen. Percy was just about to put another marshmallow on his roasting stick, when another demigod was claimed. He looked up and congratulated him, but by then both Percy and Original Annabeth knew that a war was coming, that when he leaned into Original Annabeth and whispered in her ear:

"Welcome to the world of being a demigod," he chuckled at his own joke, "where you usually get killed in horrible nasty ways."

Original Annabeth sighed, knowing that she had to get him back. And she wasn't going to stop until she knew where he was and how he was.

"You alright Annabeth?" Beckendorf asked.

Original Annabeth nodded.

**"Is that another joke?" Piper asked.**

**Leo told them about Tia Callida, who was really Hera, and how she'd appeared to him at camp. He didn't tell them about his fire abilities. that was still a touchy subject, especially after Nyssa had told him fire demigods tended to destroy cities and stuff. Besides, then Leo would have to get into how he'd caused his mom's death, and... No. He wasn't ready to go there. He did manage to tell about the night she died, not mentioning the fire, just saying the machine shop collapsed. It was easier without having to look at his friends, just keeping his eyes straight ahead as they flew. **

**And he told them about the strange woman in earthen robes who seemed to be asleep, and seemed to know the future.**

**Leo estimated the whole state of Massachusetts passed below them before his friends spoke.**

**"That's... disturbing," Piper said.**

"That's what I said," Silena muttered.

**"'Bout sums it up," Leo agreed. "Thing is, everybody says don't trust Hera. She hates demigods. And the prophecy said we'd cause death if we unleash her rage. So I'm wondering... why are we doing this?"**

"B_ecause _the world will die if I don't keep these these people to work together." Hera grumbled. "That's why."

**"She chose us," Jason said. "All three of us. We're the first of the seven who have to gather for the Great Prophecy. This quest is the beginning of something much bigger."**

**That didn't make Leo feel any better, but he couldn't argue with Jason's point. It _did _feel like this was the start of something huge. He just wished that if there were four more demigods destined to help them, they'd show up quick. Leo didn't want to hog all the terrifying life-threatening adventures.**

"I really don't want to go to war again," Rachel sighed.

"Tell me about it," Original and Other Annabeth said at the same time.

**"Besides," Jason continued, "helping Hera is the only way I can get back my memory. And that dark spire in my dream seemed to be feeding on Hera's energy. If that thing unleashes a king of the giants by destroying Hera -"**

**"Not a good trade-off," Piper agreed. "At least Hera is on our side - mostly. Losing her would throw the gods into chaos."**

"Not really," Hades said, "it would just piss of Zeus for a few thousand years. Nothing big."

"I'm pretty sure the thing with Perseus denying immortality will annoy him longer than that," Athena said.

"Wait," Other Annabeth said, "what?"

Athena shot Poseidon a warning glance like: _your son! You get to explain._

Poseidon sighed, "well after the Titan War, Perseus was granted a wish, and Zeus decided that he was a selfish loser like Hercules, so he gave Percy the gift that he could be a god."

"I could have been a god!?" Percy asked, he looked at his hands, like he was on the edge of a panic attack.

Other Annabeth ignored him, "but Luke was never asked to be a _god_! And he was the Hero too!"

"Yes," Poseidon said, "well, Luke isn't Percy. Their different personalities must have made the outcome."

"So," Other Annabeth glared at Zeus, "Luke wasn't godly enough for you to ask him to be a god?"

"I don't know," Zeus sighed, "I'm not _your _Zeus. I've never meet _your _Luke."

Other Annabeth sighed, "so Hero Perseus is a god now? How is he missing? Was he stolen like Hera?"

"Well," Athena took it from Poseidon, "that's why my father is so angry. Percy declined his gift. He wanted to stay mortal."

"Why would he _ever_ want to do that!?" Percy asked. He stood up and started pacing in front of the couches filled with demigods. "He could have all the power that he wanted! Have towns named after him! Have any girl that he wanted! Everything! Why wouldn't he want that?"

"Because," Aphrodite sighed, "he didn't want to leave his true love Annabeth! Duh!"

"What!?" Percy stopped pacing, "he's crazy! I mean sure, she kinda hot, but she is _not _hot enough to deny being a freakin god!"

Original Annabeth didn't even blush, she just handed the book to Silena and stood up to Perseus.

"Will you shut up!" She looked up at him. Perseus was at least a foot taller than her, but Original Annabeth looked up to him with a glare. "You don't know him! And you don't get to judge what he did! Especially when he isn't even here to hear you! We don't even know if he's alive or dead, so you should just be quite before I take my knife out on you!"

Percy stepped back. He actually looked scared of the Original Annabeth. Her eyes were the color of a story sky, and her hand clenched her dagger. She aimed it at his throat, ready to slice if she had to.

Percy sighed, but stepped back to his chair. He didn't even look angry when he sat down. He looked more defeated, like all the air had been sucked out of him. Something was _defiantly _different about _this _Annabeth. And he was going to stop at nothing to win her over.

Original Annabeth sighed and sat back down to read.

**"She's the main one who keeps peace in the family. And a war with the giants could be even more destructive than the Titan War."**

"I don't even want to think about it," Silena sighed.

**Jason nodded. "Chiron also talked about worse forced stirring on the solstice, with in being a good time for dark magic, and all - something that could awaken if Hera were sacrificed on that day. And this mistress who's controlling the storm spirits, the one who wants to kill all the demigods -"**

**"Might be that weird sleeping lady," Leo finished. "Dirt Woman fully awake? Not something I want to see."**

"That's not something anyone wants to see," Athena said. She looked down at her daughter, she could hear emotion on her voice as she read. But Original Annabeth ignored everyone's concerned looked and just stared down at the page, ready to read.

**"But who is she?" Jason asked. "And what does she have to do with giants?"**

**Good questions, but none of them had answers.**

"Actually they do -" Athena stared.

"Don't spoil anything," Rachel warned. "We want to figure it out by ourselves."

Athena sighed, "fine. I'll keep my mouth shut."

"That'll be hard," Ares smirked.

**They flew in silence while Leo wondered if he'd done the right thing, sharing so much. He'd never told anyone about that night at the warehouse. Even if he hadn't give them the whole story, if still felt strange, like he'd opened up his chest and taken out all the gears that made him tick. His body was shaking, and not from the cold. He hoped Piper, sitting behind him, couldn't tell.**

"Poor Leo," Silena sighed.

**_The forge and dove shall creak the cage. _Wasn't that the prophecy line? That meant Piper and he would have to figure out how to break into that magic rock prison, assuming they could find it. Then they'd unleash Hera's rage, causing a lot of death. Well, that sounded fun! Leo had seen Tia Callida in action; she liked knives, snakes, and pitting babies in roaring fires. **

"You have strange hobbies," Hermes noted.

"Maybe you should try yoga?" Apollo said, "it might be a _little _more realizing then causing crime."

**Yeah, definitely let's unleash her rage. Grate idea.**

**Festus kept flying. The wind got colder, and below them snowy forests seem to go on forever. Leo didn't know exactly where Quebec was. He'd told Festus to take them to the palace of Boreas, and Festus kept going north. Hopefully, the dragon knew the way, and they wouldn't end up at the North Pole.**

"Yeah," Aphrodite smiled, "I have a feeling they're not dressed for it."

**"Why don't you get some sleep?" Piper said in his ear. "You were up all night."**

**Leo wanted to protest, but the word _sleep _sounded really good. "You won't let me fall off?"**

**Piper patted his shoulder. "Trust me, Valdez. Beautiful people never lie."**

Athena laughed, "I beg to differ."

**"Right," he muttered. He leaned forward against the warm bronze of the dragon's neck, and closed his eyes.**

"That's it," Original Annabeth said, but she said it with a voice that sounded tired.

"I think it's time for bed," Athena announced. "You all can find your rooms."

"What about Conner and Travis?" Beckendorf asked, pointing at the still sleeping boys.

"Just leave them there," Hermes said, "they've been sleeping all afternoon, and if we wake them up now, they'll be awake all night."

Beckedorf shurgged, and Hermes spawned a blanket that covered the Stolls.

Then everyone went off the bed.

**END OF LEO 17**


	20. Leo 18

**I got my own Camp Half-Blood jacket! It's so awesome! I love it more than I love life! Just kidding, but I like it. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

The gods had shoved the demigods into the dining hall so they could eat. Apparently the gods don't like to eat dinner together. Something about "they need a break from each other, for at least nine hours a day. Or all Hades will break loose," words straight from Hades himself.

So the demigods walked down the hallways, passing closed doors that they could only guess that they were more guest rooms. But they were still too causes to check. The girls when to their rooms first before going to dinner, they had to "get ready," whatever that meant the boys had no idea.

Original Annabeth was the only girl that didn't feel the need to wash her face. She lead them down the hallways to the dinning hall (which she didn't fail to mention that she had designed).

They all sat down, but waited for the rest of the girls to come back. Everyone except Percy, who had wished himself a whole pizza and was eating as everyone else sat their waiting.

"So," Beckendorf started, "how is camp?" he asked Original Annabeth.

Annabeth looked at him, she could still feel a pain in her chest when she looked at his face. She's felt the same feeling every time she saw a picture of him or Silena.

She smiled, "it's great. Well, it was until Percy disappeared."

Beckendorf looked down at the table top. "You know he'll be fine, he's Perseus! He's the most powerful guy in the world -"

Percy laughed, "you mean the _second _most powerful demigod in the world," he pointed at himself, "I take first."

Annabeth snorted like the idea amused her. It wasn't hard for her too see the difference between Hero Perseus and Traitor Perseus. Traitor Percy's features were sharper and that cruel scar just made him look like a criminal, not only to mention that his eyes weren't the same color. His eyes were more neon green, colder, less caring. Unlike Hero Percy's, who's eyes were the color of the sea on a warm day at Camp.

Percy laughed at her reaction, "you, though, deserve on the _most _powerful. Maybe you should ditch your Perseus for me. I might be more fun."

Annabeth scowled at him, not only did this guy act like a total douche, but he has the nerve to flirt with her? After hearing all her insults, he thought he had a chance.

Annabeth laughed, "why? Did _your _reality Annabeth turn you down? And I'm your second choice? That's really low even for a _traitor._" She'd meant to say the words with venom, to piss him off or just plan hurt him. But Percy was still smiling at the end of the table, looking like she had just said the words that he's been waiting for.

"Playing hard to get," Percy winked, "I like it."

Annabeth wanted to puke.

"Well," Beckendorf said, "like I was saying. _Our _Percy is pretty powerful, and even though he's not the smartest, he does know how to get himself out of a tough situation. He'll live."

Annabeth nodded slowly, but didn't answer. She was ready to punch Traitor Percy in the face, but at the same time felt a horrible sadness for losing Her Percy. The only Percy that she wanted here right now. But she kept her head up, and thanked Beckendorf.

Right then all the other girls came back.

They took the seat next to the guys and everyone ordered their food. They all were happily eating when a flash erupted in the room.

After it passed everyone looked around expecting to see another new person standing next to the table, but instead a letter just floated out of the sky and landed in front of Original Annabeth's plate. She picked it up and read:

_Dear demigods, _

_We were waiting for a time when you weren't around the gods to tell you this._

_When you are reading this story more and more people will appear. Each one_

_of these people are important to the plot of the story, and their disappearance _

_will affect the outcome of the story. So some of you might be brought back_

_into the real world to continue the book. But you cannot tell anyone in the story_

_where you have been. Also, we can bring demigods from the future in. These_

_demigods might not have been born yet, and some of them might even be _

_descendents of yours. Take this in consideration when more people appear._

_Signed, The Fates_

Original Annabeth sighed like she was getting a headache, "well that's going to suck."

"What did they mean "they might be your dependents?" Silena asked, "does that mean they could be like our kids?"

"Or grandchildren?" Rachel asked.

Original Annabeth shrugged, "who knows, The Fates are weird that way."

"And people can be brought back," Other Annabeth said.

"I guess we'll find out," Original Annabeth muttered and went back to her salad.

* * *

Other Annabeth walked back to her guest room. She felt like a lead ball was sitting in the pit of her stomach. She didn't eat very much dinner, feeling as if her head was going to explode from her killer headache that she's had since lunch. All these strange people popping up wasn't helping her.

She walked into her room, shutting the door behind her. The room looked a lot like her cabin at Camp Half-Blood. With gray walls, hardwood floors, and bookshelves lining all walls. Annabeth had a strange feeling that it was _supposed _to. And that the room changed for the person staying in it. To make the room as much as home as possible.

Annabeth smiled. It may not be home, but it was the closest that she was going to get.

Then she noticed something. A box sitting on the edge of her bed.

She picked up and and tried to find any writing on it. After giving up she opened it. Not really sure what she was expecting.

Inside was a shirt, and a hand written letter. The shirt was worn and blue, with small burn holes in the chest and back. Annabeth looked it over, trying to figure out who's it was, or why it was sent to her.

Then she picked up the letter. The words were written in scratchy and small letters. Like the writer wasn't very good at Literature. It read:

_Dear Annabeth,_

_I hate writing, and you know that._

_But, like always, I'll make an exception for you._

_It's September 13th, I think. I can't really keep track of the_

_days anymore. Maybe it's because I've been so busy._

_With you, and with all the new campers, it's hard to _

_find time to even write this letter. But I wanted to write_

_you something, before you have to go to school for the year._

_I want to tell you all the great things that I have been feeling_

_during the time that we've been together. I love you. I couldn't_

_imagine saying that to anyone last year. You have been my only_

_real friend. We've been friends since we were twelve. Twelve. Can_

_you believe that? We were twelve Annabeth! That's crazy to think that_

_we've survived all this time. But I can't believe that we've just started _

_dating this past month. I mean, it's awesome! But I think we should have_

_gotten together sooner. So, always remember that I'll be there for you._

_Now and forever. Never apart._

_Love, Luke._

Annabeth didn't know what to think. Her heart hurt for her missing boyfriend. All she wanted was to lay with him tonight. To listen to his soft whispers as she fell asleep wrapped in his arms. But now she just stuck sitting on a bed, reading a letter that he was supposed to give to her a month before, and worrying about whether he was alive or not.

She felt a strange urge to cry. Even though she hated crying. The tears welled up, and she sat on the bed crying to herself. Getting tears all over the letter, making the ink smear. She carefully folded the letter back up and put it in the box.

She didn't have to guess who's shirt it was, it was Luke's. She lifted the fabric and smelled the fumes of burning wood from campfires and the hint of his cologne. She wanted to wrap herself in the shirt, and just lie there, crying forever. Just cease to exist.

But eventually the tears stopped coming, and then she was just sitting there holding a tattered shirt.

She threw her clothes off and onto the floor, then put Luke's shirt on. She crawled into bed. Feeling that her headache had gotten even worse.

She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

* * *

In her dream Annabeth was standing on a highway.

She'd never seen this highway before. It was surrounded by wheat fields as far as the eye could see, with no houses or buildings in sight.

The road was basically empty. Only for a lone teen walking the side was visible.

The boy was handsome, with sandy colored hair and blue eyes. Annabeth recognized him eminently.

It was Luke. He looked like he was in good heath. With a nice clean white shirt, and jeans that looked newly ironed. He walked the road with only a backpack slung over his shoulder.

Annabeth tried to run to him. But her legs wouldn't work. She tried calling to him, but when ever she spoke the words were carried away with the wind before they ever reached his ear.

Annabeth sighed in frustration. Luke was right there, almost close enough to touch, but at the same time, miles, and miles away.

* * *

The scene changed (to Annabeth's annoyance).

Now she was standing at what looked like the top of a hill covered in dying grass. Nothing was around, the land just as barren as the wheat fields before. The only difference, there was no Luke walking by.

Then a voice spoke._  
_

_"Annabeth Chase," _it was a women's voice, _I know what you and your little friends are doing, Annabeth. Don't think you can change the fall of Olympus just by reading some stupid books. You can't change anyone's fact. Not even your little boyfriends."_

"What did you do to Luke?" She asked.

The lady laughed coldly, _"this is only the beginning."_

Then the ground below Annabeth's feet disappeared and she fell into darkness.

* * *

"Okay," Athena started, "so who's going to read the next chapter?"

Everyone had just come out of breakfast. Everyone was still tired and sluggish, barely staying awake to eat their oatmeal.

For some reason Athena thought it would be a great idea to make everyone get up at six. Waking them up with the help of Apollo and his Magic Apollo Singing Alarm clocks. The only problem? A snooze button wasn't included.

Making all the demigods and gods tired, and hardly ready to start reading.

"Why did we have to get up so early again?" Poseidon asked.

"Because," Athena said, "if we start earlier than we will finish this book earlier." She said the answer like it was obvious and looked at Poseidon like he was an idiot.

"Oh, right," he rubbed his eyes, "my bad."

"So, who's reading?" Athena asked again.

"Why don't you?" Original Annabeth yawned, "since your so hyper."

"Alright," Athena said.

* * *

**LEO 18**

**It seemed like only for seconds, but when Piper shook him awake, the daylight was fading.**

"I hate it when that happens," Poseidon said glaring at Athena.

**"We're here," she said.**

**Leo rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Below them, a city sat on a cliff overlooking a river. The plains around it were dusted with snow, but the city itself glowed warmly in the winter sunset. Buildings crowded together inside high walls like a medieval town, way older than any play Leo had seen before. In the center was an actual castle - at least Leo assumed it was a castle - with massive red brick walls and a square tower with a peaked , greed gabled roof.**

"Wow," Original Annabeth said her eyes were distracted, "that architecture is amazing!"

**"Tell me that's Quebec and not Santa's workshop," Leo said.**

"It that was Santa's workshop, I would live there!" Travis laughed.

Much to everyone's annoyance the Stolls were wide awake at this morning hour, meaning a _long _day.

**"Yeah, Quebec City," Piper confirmed. "One of the oldest cities in North America. Founded around sixteen hundred or so?"**

"That's actually kinda cool," Luke said.

**Leo raised an eyebrow. "Your dad do a movie about that too?"**

"That's a little rude," Silena said tirdly. She was resting on Beckendorf's shoulder while he was snoring with his head back.

**She made a face at hi, which Leo was used to, but it didn't quite work with her new glamorous makeup. "I _read _sometimes, okay? Just because Aphrodite claimed me, doesn't mean I have to be an airhead."**

"I'm not an airhead," Silena objected, but she was too tired to really care.

**"Feisty!" Leo said. "So you know so much, what's that castle?"**

**"A hotel, I think."**

**Leo laughed. "No way."**

**But as the got closer, Leo saw she was right. The grand entrance was bustling with doormen, valets, and porters taking bags. Sleep black luxury cars idled in the drive. People in elegant suits and winter cloaks hurried to get out of the cold.**

"I've stayed there before," Aphrodite said, "their chicken was cold."

"You are in Quebec," Hermes said, "there's hardly anything that isn't cold there."

**"The North Wind is staying in a hotel?" Leo said. "That can't be -"**

**"Heads up, guys," Jason interrupted. "We got company!"**

"Finally some action!" Ares laughed.

**Leo looked below and saw what Jason meant. Rising from the top of the tower were two winged figures - angry angels, with nasty-looking swords.**

"That's a little strange," Silena said.

**Festus didn't like the angel guys. He swooped to a half in midair, wings beating and talons bared, and made a rumbling sound in his throat that Leo recognized. He was getting ready to blow fire.**

"Yes!" Ares smiled, "lite that entire city on fire! That would be awesome to see!"

Clarisse laughed and agreed with her father.

**"Steady, boy," Leo muttered. Something told him the angels would not take kindly to getting torched.**

"Who would?"

**"I don't like this," Jason said. "They look like storm spirits."**

**At first Leo thought he was right, but as the angels got closer, he could see they were much more solid than a venti. They looked like regular teenagers except for their icy white hair and feathery purple wings. Their bronze swords were jagged, like icicles. Their faces looked similar enough that they might've been brothers, but they definitely weren't twins.**

"Sounds like Boreas's sons," Zeus said. "I _hate _those two idiots."

"I think everyone does," Hades mumbled.

**One was the size of an ox, with a bright red hockey jersey, baggy sweatpants, and black leather cleats. The guy clearly had been in too many fights, because both his eyes were black, and when he bared his teeth, several of them were missing.**

**The other guy looked like he'd just stepped off one of Leo's mom's 1980s rock album covers - Journey, maybe, or Hall & Oates, or something even lamer. His ice-white hair was long and feathered into a mullet. He wore pointy-toed leather shoes, designer pants that were way too tight, and a god-awful silk shirt with the top three buttons open. Maybe he thought he looked like a groovy love god, but the guy couldn't have weight more than ninety pounds, and he had a bad case of acne.**

"I wan to puke," Aphrodite squirmed in her throne, "I don't wan to hear any more about their faces, please."

**The angels pulled up in front of the dragon and hovered there, swords at the ready.**

**The hockey ox grunted. "No clearance."**

**"'Scuse me?" Leo said.**

**"You have no flight plan on file," explained the groove love god. On top of his other problems, he had a French accent so bad Leo was sure it was fake. **

"Well he does live in Quebec," Other Annabeth said.

**"This is restricted airspace."**

**"Destroy them?" The ox showed off his gap-toothed grin. **

**The dragon began to hiss steam, but Leo cried, "Hold on! Let's have manners here, boys. Can I at least find out who has the honor of destroying me?"**

**"I am Cal!" The ox grunted. He looked very proud of himself, like he'd taken a long time to memorize that sentence.**

"It did," Poseidon sighed.

**"That's short for Calais," the love god said. "Sadly, my brother cannot say words with more than two syllables -"**

**"Pizza! Hockey! Destroy!" Cal offered.**

"Jeez, that's got to get annoying," Rachel said.

**"- which includes his own name," the love god finished.**

**"I am Cal," Cal repeated. "And this is Zethes! My brother!"**

**"Wow," Leo said. "That was almost three sentences, man! Way to go."**

"Wow."

**Cal grunted, obviously please with himself.**

**"Stupid buffoon," his brother grumbled. "They make fun of you. But no matter. I am Zethes, which is short for Zethes. And the lady there -" he winked at Piper, but the ink was more like a facial seizure. "She can call me anything she likes. Perhaps she would like to have dinner with a famous demigod before we must destroy you?"**

"In your dreams!" Aphrodite scowled, "my daughter would never go out with you."

**Piper made a sound like gagging on a cough drop. "That's... a truly horrifying offer."**

Aphrodite laughed.

**"It is no problem," Zethes wriggled his eyebrows. "we are a very romantic people, we Boreads."**

"I'm going to die before this chapter is over, aren't I?" Silena asked.

Other Annabeth nodded, "I think we all will."

**"Boreads?" Jason cut in. "Do you mean, like, the sons of Boreas?"**

"Duh," Percy said.

**"Ah, so you've heard of us!" Zethes looked please. "We are our father's gatekeepers. So you understand, we cannot have unauthorized people flying in his airspace on creaking dragons, scaring the silly mortal poeples."**

**He pointed below, and Leo saw that the mortals were starting to take notice. Several were pointing up - not with alarm, yet - more confusion and annoyance,**

"That makes more of us," Other Annabeth said.

**like the dragon was a traffic helicopter flying too low.**

**"Which is sadly why, unless this is an emergency landing," Zethes said, brushing his hair out of his acne-covered face, "we will have to destroy you painfully."**

**"Destroy!" Cal agreed, with a little more enthusiasm than Leo thought necessary. **

"That's probably the only thing that makes him happy," Hermes said.

**"Wait!" Piper said. "This _is _an emergency landing."**

**"Awww!" Cal looked do disappointed, Leo almost felt sorry for him.**

**Zethes studied Piper, which of course he'd already been doing. "How does the pretty girl decide this is an emergency, then?"**

"He's annoying me," Perseus grumbled.

**"We have to see Boreas. It's totally urgent! Please?" She forced a smile, which Leo figured must've been killing her, but she still had that blessing of Aphrodite thing going on, and she looked great. Something about her voice, too - Leo found herself believing every word. Jason was nodding looking absolutely convinced.**

"Of course," Perseus said, "she's pretty, he's going to do whatever she says."

**Zethes picked at his silk shirt, probably making sure it was still open wide enough.**

"Gross," Clarisse scowled.

**"Well... I hate to disappoint a lovely lady, but you see, my sister, she would have an avalanche if we allowed you -"**

"Oh great," Poseidon grumbled, "she's there too."

**"And our dragon is malfunctioning!" Piper added. "It could crash any minuet!"**

**Festus shuddered helpfully, then turned his head and spilled gunk out of his ear, splattering a black Mercedes in the parking lot below.**

"That poor owner," Hephaestus said.

**"No destroy?" Cal whimpered.**

**Zethes pondered the problem. Then he gave Piper another spasmodic wink. "Well, you are pretty. I mean, you're _right. _A malfunctioning dragon - this could be an emergency."**

**"Destroy them later?" Cal offered, which was probably as close to friendly as he ever got.**

**"It will take some explaining," Zethes decided. "Father has not been kind to visitors lately. But, yes. Come, faulty dragon people. Follow us."**

"That went well," Other Annabeth said.

"They just had to lie a lot," Luke smirked.

**The Boreads sheathed their swords and pulled smaller weapons from their belts - or at least Leo thought they were weapons. Then the Boreads switched them on, and Leo realized they were flashlights with orange cones, like the ones traffic controller guys use on a runway. Cal and Zethes turned and swooped toward the hotel's tower.**

**Leo turned to his friends. "I love these guys."**

"What a surprise," Original Annabeth said.

**"Follow them?"**

**Jason and Piper didn't look eager.**

**"I guess," Jason decided. "We're here now. But I wonder why Boreas hasn't been kind to visitors."**

**"Pfft, he just hasn't met us." Leo whistled. "Festus, after those flashlights!"**

**As they got closer, Leo worried they'd crash into the tower. The Boreads made right for the green gabled peak and didn't slow down. then a section of the slanted roof slid open, revealing an entrance easily wide enough for Festus. The top and bottom were lined with icicles like jagged teeth.**

"Sounds horrible," Conner said. "I don't think that Santa would want to live _there._"

**"This cannot be good," Jason muttered, but Leo spurred the dragon downward, and they swooped in after the Boreads.**

**They landed in what must have been the penthouse suite, but the place had been hit by a flash freeze. The entry hall had vaulted ceilings forty feet high, huge draped windows, and lush oriental carpets. A staircase at the back of the room led up to another equally massive hall, and more corridors led up to another equally massive hall, and more corridors branched off to the left and right. But the ice made the room's beauty a little frightening. When Leo slid off the dragon, the carpet crunched under his feet. A fine layer of frost covered the furniture. The curtains didn't budge because they were frozen solid, and the ice-coated windows let in weird watery light from the sunset. Even the ceiling was furry with icicles. As for the stairs, Leo was sure he'd slip and break his neck if he tried to climb them.**

"That's sounds like Boreas," Zeus said. "Freezing," he shivered.

**"Guys," Leo said, "fix the thermostat in here, and I would totally move in."**

**"Not me," Jason looked uneasily at the staircase. "Something feels wrong. Something up there..."**

**Festus shuddered and snorted flames. Frost started to form on his scales.**

**"No, no, no." Zethes marched over, though his he would walk in those pointy leather shoes, Leo had no idea. "The dragons must be deactivated. We can't have fire in here."**

"That actually makes sense," Luke said.

**"The heat ruins my hair."**

"Never mind."

**Festus growled and spun his drill-bit teeth.**

**"S'okay, boy." Leo turned to Zethes. "The dragon's a little touchy about the whole _deactivation _concept. But I've got a better solution."**

**"Destroy?" Cal suggested.**

**"No, man. You gotta stop with the _destroy_ talk. Just wait."**

**"Leo," Piper said nervously. "what are you -"**

**"Watch and learn, beauty queen. When I was repairing Festus last night, I found all kinds of buttons. Some, you do _not _want to know what they do. But others... Ah, here we go."**

"That would be awesome!" Travis laughed, "to have a dragon that has buttons that do stuff! I want one for my next birthday!"

Hermes sighed, and shook his head.

**Leo hooked his fingers behind the dragon's left foreleg. He pulled a switch, and the dragon shuddered from head to toe. Everyone back away as Festus folded like origami. His bronze plating stacked together. His neck and tail contracted into his body. His wings collapsed and his trunk compacted until he was a rectangular metal wedge the size of a suitcase.**

"That is actually cool," Percy said.

**Leo tried to lift it, but the thing weighed about six billion pounds.**

"Yeah, that would make sense," Luke said.

**"Um... yeah. Hold on. I think - aha."**

**He pushed another button. A handle flipped up on the top, and wheels clicked out on the bottom.**

**"Ta-da!" he announced.**

"Hephaestus kids can actually make a _super _awesome machine!" Apollo smiled.

"You act surprised," Hephaestus smiled.

**"The world's heaviest carry-on bag!"**

**"That's impossible," Jason said. "Something that big couldn't -"**

"Well you just saw it happen," Silena said, "so it kinda is possible."

**"Stop!" Zethes ordered. He and Cal both drew their swords and glared at Leo.**

"What? Why?" Other Annabeth said.

**Leo raised his hands. "Okay... what'd I do? Stay calm guys. If it bothers you that much, I don't _have _to take the dragons as a carry-on -"**

"Oh, wow."

**"Who are you?" Zethes shoved the point of his sword against Leo's chest. "A child of the South Wind, spying on us?"**

**"What? No!" Leo said. "Son of Hephaestus. Friendly blacksmith, no harm to anyone!"**

**Cal growled.**

"That probably was the stupidest thing he's ever said," Other Annabeth rubbed the bridge of her nose.

**He put his face up to Leo's, and he definitely wasn't any prettier at point-blank, with his bruised eyes and bashed-in mouth. "Smell fire," he said. "Fire is bad."**

"Well, when your house is covered in ice it is," Hades agreed.

**"Oh." Leo's heart raced. "Yeah, well... my clothes are kind of singed, and I've been working with oil, and -"**

**"No!" Zethes pushed Leo back at sword point. "We can _smell _fire, demigod."**

"He doesn't want Piper or Jason to know that he has fire control," Other Annabeth said.

"He doesn't want _anyone, _to know." Original Annabeth corrected.

**"We assumed it was from the creaky dragon, but now the dragon is a suitcase. And I still smell fire... on _you_."**

"So much for _that _secret," Perseus grumbled.

**If it hadn't been like three degrees in the penthouse, Leo would've started sweating. "Hey... look... I don't know -" **

**He glanced at his friends. "Guys, a little help?"**

**Jason already had his gold coin in his hand. He stepped forward, his eyes on Zethes. "Look, there's been a mistake. Leo isn't a fire guy. Tell them, Leo. Tell them you're not a fire guy."**

"Fire guy?" Rachel asked.

**"Um..."**

**"Zethes?" Piper tried her dazzling smile again, though she looked a little too nervous and old to pull it off. "We're all friends here. Put down your swords and let's talk."**

**"The girl is pretty," Zethes admitted.**

"Didn't he already say that?"

**"and of course she cannot help being attracted to my amazingness; but sadly, I cannot romance her at this time."**

"Or ever," Silena yawned.

**He poked his sword point farther into Leo's chest, and Leo could feel the frost spreading across his shirt, turning his skin numb.**

**He wished he could reactivate Festus. He needed some backup. But it would've taken several minutes, even if he could reach the button, with two purple-winged crazy guys in his path.**

**"Destroy him now?" Cal asked him brother.**

**Zethes nodded. "Sadly, I think -"**

**"No," Jason insisted. He sounded calm enough, but Leo figured he was about two seconds away from flipping that coin and going into full gladiator mode. "Leo's just a son of Hephaestus. He's not threat. Piper here is the daughter of Aphrodite. I'm the son of Zeus. We're on a peaceful..."**

"They better not think that Jason is the original Jason," Zeus said. "They might just kill him because he stole Jason's name."

**Jason's voice faltered, because both Boreads had suddenly turned on him.**

**"What did you say?" Zethes demanded. "You are the son of Zeus?"**

**"Um... yeah," Jason said. "That's a good thing, right? My name is Jason."**

**Cal looked so surprised, he almost dropped his sword. "Can't be Jason," he said. "Doesn't look the same."**

"Maybe just a little difference," Luke sighed.

**Zethes stepped forward and squinted at Jason's face. "No, he is not _our _Jason. Our Jason was more stylish."**

"Hopefully not as much as you," Original Annabeth scowled.

**"Not as much as me - but stylish. Besides, our Jason died millennia ago."**

**"Wait," Jason said. "_Your _Jason... you mean the original Jason? The Golden Fleece guy?"**

"No, the other Jason!" Percy said sarcastically.

**"Of course," Zethes said. "We were his crewmates aboard his ship, the _Argo, _in the old times, when we were mortal demigods. Then we accepted immortality to serve our father, so I could look this good for all time, and my silly brother could enjoy pizza and hockey."**

"If only _your _stupid son would be that stupid," Zeus said. "Then I probably wouldn't hate his guts."

Poseidon smirked, "you've always hated him. And he had every right to deny your gift."

**"Hockey!" Cal agreed.**

**"But Jason - _our _Jason - he died a mortal death," Zethes said. "You can't be him."**

"Really?" Percy sighed.

**"I'm not," Jason agreed.**

**"So, destroy?" Cal asked. Clearly the conversation was giving his two brain cells a serious workout."**

**"No," Zethes said regretfully. "If he is a son of Zeus, he could be the one we've been watching for."**

"They've been watching for him?" Original Annabeth thought, "does Boreas know that they were coming?"

**"Watching for?" Leo asked. "You mean like in a good way: you'll shower him with fabulous prizes? Or watching for like in a _bad _way: he's in trouble?"**

"Leo has a weird way to put stuff," Other Annabeth said.

**A girl's voice said, "That depends on my father's will."**

**Leo looked up the staircase. His heart nearly stopped. At the top stood a girl in a white silk dress. Her skin was unnaturally pale, the color of snow, but her hair was a lush mane of black, and her eyes were coffee brown. She focused on Leo with no expression, no smile, no friendliness. But it didn't matter. Leo was in love.**

"Of course he was," Hermes rolled her eyes.

**She was the most dazzling girl he'd ever seen.**

**Then she looked at Jason and Piper, and seemed to understand the situation immediately.**

"I hate this girl," Demeter grumbled. "I can't believe that she's a _goddess_."

**"Father will want to see the one called Jason," the girl said.**

"Are all the people in that town related to Boreas?" Original Annabeth asked.

**"Then it _is _him?" Zethes asked excitedly.**

**"We'll see," the girl said. "Zethes, bring our guests."**

**Leo grabbed the handle of his bronze dragon suitcase. He wasn't sure how he'd lug it up the stairs, but he _had _to get next to that girl and ask her some important questions - like her e-mail address and phone number.**

"This chapter just seems to go on forever," Luke sighed.

**Before he could take a step, she froze him with a look. Not _literally _froze, but she might as well have.**

**"Not you, Leo Valdez," she said.**

**In the back of his mind, Leo wondered how she knew his name; but mostly he was just concentrating on how crushed he felt.**

"She's nothing special," Aphrodite said, "not the one for you Leo, trust me. I have a special one planned for you."

"You better not be hooking him up with someone bad," Hephaestus told her.

"Don't worry, sweetie. I have everything planned out perfectly."

"Leo better start running now," Silena whispered to Original Annabeth.

**"Why not?" He probably sounded like a whiney kindergartener, but he couldn't help it.**

**"You cannot be in the presence of my father," the girl said. "Fire and ice - it would not be wise."**

"Well no duh."

**"We're going together," Jason insisted, putting his hand on Leo's shoulder, "or not at all."**

**The girl tilted her head, like she wasn't used to people refusing her orders. "He will not be harmed, Jason Grace, unless you make trouble. Calais, keep Leo Valdez here. Guard him, but do not kill him."**

"Well she's persistent," Original Annabeth noticed.

**Cal pouted. "Just a little?"**

**"No," the girl insisted. "And take care of his interesting suitcase, until Father passes judgment."**

"Passes judgment?" Other Annabeth said, "they were just going to ask where Aeolus is. Why would they be judged?"

**Jason and Piper looked at Leo, their expressions asked him a silent question: _How do you want to play this?_**

**Leo felt a surge of gratitude. They were ready to fight for him. They wouldn't leave him alone with the hockey ox. Part of him wanted to go for it, bust out his new tool belt and see what he could do, maybe even summon a fireball or two and warm this place up.**

"I would pay to see that," Travis laughed.

**But the Boread guys scared him.**

"Prissy," Clarisse grumbled.

**And that gorgeous girl scared him more, even if he still wanted her number.**

**"It's fine, guys," he said. "No sense causing trouble if we don't have to. You go ahead."**

**"Listen to your friend, " the pale girl said. "Leo Valdez will be perfectly safe. I wish I could say the same for you, son of Zeus. Now come, King Boreas is waiting."**

"That's it," Original Annabeth said. "The chapter is over."

"I'll read next," Demeter said, "I am sick of sitting here doing nothing."

Then a burst of bright white light brought another person to the Throne Room.

**END OF LEO 18**


	21. Jason 19

**I am super happy guys! We have now reached page: 210! Isn't that awesome! We are only about 300 pages away from the end. And I _will _get to the end. It is my goal, and I figure that if I'm already _this _far into the book, and I'm not bored then I'm pretty sure I won't get bored. Just keep commenting and I'll keep writing. _  
_**

**We are also over 100 reviews! Which is the only real reason why I'm still writing, without you guys I wouldn't be this far. So thank you. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

"Nico!" Original Annabeth asked.

Standing in the middle of the room was a middle aged man. His hair was ink black and shaggy, his eyes almost the same. We wore jeans, a grey Camp Half-Blood shirt and a leather jacket over that.

Original Annabeth couldn't speak. She knew that this was Nico. But he was at least thirty years old. The Nico she knew was only fourteen! The Nico looked just as surprised as the demigods and the gods. He whirled around, looking at all the demigods. His eyes darkened when he saw Luke, and they just got more confused when they saw Percy.

"State your name," Zeus ordered.

Nico turned to face the gods. "You know my name," he said.

"I don't care, just say your name," Zeus said.

Nico sighed, "Nico Di Angelo, son of Hades."

"Who saved Olympus from the Titans?" Hades asked his son.

Nico paled, and looked back at Luke, then back to the gods.

"Perseus did," he said. "Hey, wants going on? Why are the two Annabeths? And why do they look like their seventeen again? And who the hell is that... that _other _Percy dude? And Luke, Beckendorf, and Silena are dead! What is going on!"

Hades sighed, "well you look older than fourteen."

"Well, hell! Yes I am older than fourteen!"

"So... how old are you?" Hades asked.

"I'm thirty-two," Nico said. "Why are you asking me this?"

"Because, you've been brought back in time," Hades started. He told everything to Nico. About what happened in the book, the other reality people, and the people that were brought back from the dead.

Nico just stood there, not really reacting. His face darkened when he was told that the people were from the time when Percy was missing.

When Hades was done explaining, Nico turned around, and looked over the demigods again.

"This really is weird," he said not really to anyone. "But I guess it's been a while since something weird happened, I might as well just get comfortable."

He went and sat down by himself. In the new couch.

* * *

**JASON 19**

**Jason didn't want to leave Leo, but he was starting to think that hanging out with Cal the hockey jock might be the _least _dangerous option in this place.**

**As they climbed the icy staircase, Zethes stayed behind them, his blade drawn. The guy might've looked like a disco era reject, but there was nothing funny about his sword. Jason figured one hit from that thing would probably turn him into a Popsicle.**

**Then there was the ice princess. Ever once in a while she'd turn and give Jason a smile, but there was no warmth in her expression. She regarded Jason like he was an especially interesting science specimen - one she couldn't wait to dissect.**

**If these were Boreas's kids, Jason wasn't sure he wanted to meet Daddy.**

"Boreas isn't too bad," Poseidon said, "he has his good days and his bad days."

**Annabeth had told him Boreas was the friendliest of the wind gods. Apparently that meant he didn't kill heroes quite as fast as the others did.**

"I try not to kill demigods," Apollo said. "I never meant to kill that one in..."

"What?" Hermes asked, "you killed someone lately?"

"Well... he ran out in front of me! I was test driving a car -"

"You hit a _kid _with your car?" Athena asked.

"I killed a cat!" Apollo said it like it was worse than killing a person. "I didn't mean too!"

"Your ridiculous Apollo," Hera rubbed her head.

**Jason worried that he'd let his friends into a trap. If things went bad, he wasn't sure he could get them out alive. Without thinking about it, he took Piper's hand for reassurance.**

"Aww!" Aphrodite squealed.

**She raised her eyebrows, but she didn't let go.**

**"It'll be fine," she promised. "Just a talk, right?"**

**At the top of the stairs, the ice princess looked back and noticed them holding hands. Her smile faded. Suddenly Jason's hand in Piper's turned ice cold - _burning _cold. He let go, and his fingers were smoking with frost. So were Piper's.**

"I hate that goddess," Aphrodite's smile turned into a scowl.

**"Warmth is not a good idea here," the princess advised, especially when _I _am your best chance of staying alive. Please, this way."**

"She's just jealous," Aphrodite sneered.

**Piper gave him a nervous frown like, _What was that about?_**

**Jason didn't have an answer. Zethes poked in the back with his icicles sword, and they followed the princess down a massive hallway decked in frosty tapestries.**

**Freezing winds blew back and forth, and Jason's thoughts moved almost as fast. He'd had a lot of time to think while they rode the dragon north, but he felt as confused as ever. **

"About what?" Other Annabeth asked, "Piper? The quest? Or the whole "Thalia's my sister" thing."

**Thalia's picture was still in his pocket, though he didn't need to look at it anymore. Her image had burned itself into his mind.**

"That's a little obsessive," Rachel muttered.

**It was bad enough not remembering his past, but to know he had a sister out there somewhere who might have answers and to have no way of finding her - that just drove him up the wall.**

"Literally?" Conner asked.

"Yes, Conner," Other Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Jason literally walked up a wall."

"That dude is awesome!"

**In the picture, Thalia looked nothing like him. They both had blue eyes, but that was it. Her hair was black. Her complexion was more Mediterranean. Her facial features were sharper - like a hawk's.**

**Still, Thalia looked _so _familiar. Hera had left him just enough memory that he could be certain. Thalia was his sister. But Annabeth had acted completely surprised when he'd told her, like she'd never heard of Thalia's having a brother. Did Thalia even know about him? How had they been separated?**

"That's what we've been wondering," Original Annabeth said.

**Hera had taken those memories. She'd stolen everything from Jason's past, plopped him into a new life, and now she expected him to save her from some prison just so he could get back what she'd taken. It made Jason so angry, he wanted to walk away, let Hera rot in that cage: but he couldn't. He was hooked. He had to know more, and that made him even more resentful.**

"That makes all of us," Original Annabeth agreed.

**"Hey." Piper touched his arm. "You still with me?"**

**"Yeah... yeah, sorry."**

**He was grateful for Piper. He needed a friend, and he was glad she'd started losing the Aphrodite blessing. The makeup was fading. Her hair was slowly going back to its old choppy style with the little braids down the sides. It made her look more real, and as far as Jason was concerned, more beautiful.**

Nico chuckled.

"What?" Original Annabeth asked.

Nico shook his head, "it's nothing. Just that it's strange to hear him talk like that."

"They don't do that in your time?" Original Annabeth asked.

"Well... I don't think I should say," Nico said.

"Yeah," Silena said, "no spoils."

**He was sure now that they'd never known each other before the Grand Canyon. Their relationship was just a trick of the Mist in Piper's mind. But the longer he spent with her, the more he wished it had been real.**

Nico smirked.

"It's totally going to happen," Aphrodite said.

_**Stop that, **_**he told himself. It wasn't fair to Piper, thinking that way. Jason had no idea what was waiting for him back in his old life - or _who _might be waiting. But he was pretty sure his past wouldn't mix with Camp Half-Blood. After this quest, who knew what would happen? Assuming they even survived. **

"Considering he's Roman," Other Annabeth said, "that makes sense."

**At the end of the hallway they found themselves in front of a set of oaken doors carved with a map of the world. In each corner was a man's bearded face, blowing wind. Jason was pretty sure he'd seen maps like this before. But in this version, all the wind guys were Winter, blowing ice and snow from every corner of the world.**

**The princess turned. Her brown eyes glittered, and Jason felt like he was a Christmas present she was hoping to open. **

"That's creepy," Percy grumbled.

**"This is the throne room," she said. "Be on your best behavior, Jason Grace. My father can be... chilly. I will translate for you, and try to encourage him to hear you out. I do hope he spares you. We could have such fun."**

"She just got creepier."

**Jason guessed this girl's definition of fun was not the same as his.**

"Way different," Poseidon said.

**"Um, okay," he managed. "But really, we're just here for a little talk. We'll be leaving right afterward."**

**The girl smiled. "I love heroes. So blissfully ignorant."**

**Piper rested her hand on her dagger. "Well, how about you enlighten us? You say you're going to translate for us, and we don't even know who you are . What's you name?"**

**The girl sniffed with distaste. "I supposed I shouldn't be surprised you don't recognize me. Even in the ancient times the Greeks did not know me well. Their island homes were too warm, too far from my domain. I am Khione, daughter of Boreas, goddess of snow."**

"And the most annoying goddess in the world," Ares groaned, "always annoying me because I caused a war in her territory, or one of my kids tried to kill her. She's stupid."

**She stirred the air with her finger, and a miniature blizzard swirled around her - big, fluffy flakes as soft as cotton. **

**"Now, come," Khione said. The oaken doors blew open, and cold blue light spilled out of the room. "Hopefully you will survive your little talk."**

"That's it," Demeter said. "Who wants to read next?"

Nico sighed, "I will I guess. It's funny hearing younger Jason's thoughts."

**END OF JASON 19**


	22. Jason 20

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

**JASON 20**

**IF the entry hall had been cold, the throne room was like a meat locker.**

**Mist hung in the air. Jason shivered, and his breath steamed. Along the walls, purple tapestries showed scenes of snowy forests, barren mountains, and glaciers. High above, ribbons of colored light - the aurora borealis - pulsed along the ceiling. A layer of snow covered the floor, so Jason had to step carefully. All around the room stood life-size ice sculpture warriors - some in Greek armor, some medieval, some in modern camouflage - all frozen in various attack positions, swords raised, guns locked and loaded.**

"He froze people?" Rachel asked, looking horrified.

"You're surprised?" Hermes asked, "didn't we already cover that all gods are evil and will kill anyone and everyone?"

"Stop whining, Hermes," Athena grumbled.

**At least Jason _thought _they were sculptures. Then he tried to step between two Greek spearmen, and they moved with surprising speed, they joints cracking and spraying ice crystals as they crossed their javelins to block Jason's path.**

"So they're un-dead frozen warriors?" Original Annabeth asked.

"They would be _awesome_!" Ares laughed, "I should totally do that!"

"Except you can't freeze people," Zeus reminded. "So you can't have _frozen _warriors."

"I don't care! They'll still be cool!"

**From the far end of the hall, a man's voice rang out in a language that sounded like French. The room was so long and misty, Jason couldn't see the other end; but whatever the man said, the ice guards uncrossed their javelins. **

**"It's fine," Khione said. "My father ordered them not to kill you just yet."**

"That's reassuring," Silena grumbled.

**"Super," Jason said.**

**Zethes prodded him in the back with his sword.**

Travis smirked, and Conner laughed.

"What's so funny?" Other Annabeth asked.

"He prodded him in the back with his sword?" Conner asked laughing.

"You guys are so immature," Other Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"And sick minded," Luke scowled.

**"Keep moving, Jason Junior."**

"Wow."

**"Please don't call me that."**

**"My father is not a patient man," Zethes warned, "and the beautiful Piper, sadly, is losing her magic hardio very fast. Later, perhaps, I can lend her something from my wide assortment of hair products."**

Percy shook his head, "and he's so serious about it."

**"Thanks," Piper grumbled.**

**"They kept walking, and the mist parted to reveal a man on an ice throne. He was sturdily built, dressed in a stylish white suit that seemed woven from snow, with dark purple wings that spread out to either side. His long hair and shaggy beard were encrusted with icicles, so Jason couldn't tell if his hair was gray or just white with frost. His arched eyebrows made him look angry, but his eyes twinkled more warmly than his daughter's - as if he might have a sense of humor buried somewhere under the permafrost. Jason hoped so.**

"I hate to admit it," Aphrodite said, "but Boreas always is greatly dressed."

"More like you had a crush on him when you were younger," Athena said, "and you still want to get him to notice you."

Aphrodite rolled her eyes, "you don't want me to start saying who you like -"

"Shut up Aphrodite," Athena grumbled, "I know your weaknesses."

**"_Bienvenu,_" The king said. "_je suis Boreas le Roi. Et vous?_"**

**Khione the snow goddess was about to speak, but Piper stepped forward and curtsied.**

_**"Votre Majeste,**_**" she said, "_je suis Piper McLean. Et c'est Jason, fils de Zeus._"**

"Of course she can also speak French," Athena said, "how could we forget that."

**The king smiled with pleasant surprise. "_Vous parlez francais? Tres bien!_"**

**"Piper, you speak French?" Jason asked.**

"She's the daughter of Aphrodite," Silena said like it was obvious. "We all can speak the language of love."

**Piper frowned. "No. Why?"**

"You just did it," Percy said, "how could you not know that you could do it, when you just did it?"

**"You just spoke French."**

**Piper blinked. "I did?"**

**The king said something else, and Piper nodded. "_Oui, Vorte Mojeste._"**

**The king laughed and clapped his hands, obviously delighted. He said a few more sentences then swept his hand toward his daughter as if shooing her away.**

"Oh, she's going to be pissed." Apollo laughed. "She's funny when she's pissed."

"You mean she's dangerous?" Artemis said. "Because she could freeze you?"

"Nah, I don't think so."

Artemis rolled her eyes and sighed. "My stupid brother."

**Khione looked miffed. "The king says -"**

**"He says I'm a daughter of Aphrodite," Piper interrupted, "so naturally I can speak French, which is the language of love. I had no idea. His Majesty says Khione won't have to translate now."**

"She's really going to pissed," Athena smirked.

**Behind them, Zethes snorted, and Khione shot him a murderous look. She bowed stiffly to her father and took a step back.**

**The king sized up Jason, and Jason decided it would be a good idea to bow. "Your Majesty, I'm Jason Grace. Thanks you for, um, not killing us. May I ask... why does a Greek god speak French?"**

"He lives in Quebec," Other Annabeth said.

**Piper had another exchange with the king.**

**"He speaks the language of his hot country," Piper translated. "He says all god do this. Most Greek gods speak English, as they now reside in the Untied States, but Boreas was never welcomed in their realm. His domain was always far to the north. These days he likes Quebec, so he speaks French."**

**The king said something else, and Piper turned pale.**

**"The king says..." She faltered. "He says -"**

"Probably something about killing," Hades guessed.

"Please will someone hurry up and die!" Ares groaned.

**"Oh, allow me," Khione said. "My father says he has orders to kill you. Did I not mention that earlier?"**

Hades chuckled, "I think we are going to get our killings Ares."

Ares fist pumped the air, and chanted a victory.

**Jason tensed. The king was still smiling amiably, like he'd just delivered great news.**

**"Kill us?" Jason said. "Why?"**

**"Because," the king said, in heavily accented English, "my lord Aeolus has commanded it."**

"Well that sucks," Conner said.

**Boreas rose. He stepped down from his throne and furled his wings against his back. As he approached, Khione and Zethes bowed. Jason and Piper followed their example.**

**"I shall deign to speak your language," Boreas said, "As Piper McLean has honored me in mine."**

"Well at least that part's good," Other Annabeth shrugged.

**"_Toujours, _I have had a fondness for the children of Aphrodite. As for you, Jason Grace, my master Aeolus would not expect me to kill a son of Lord Zeus... without first hearing you out."**

**Jason's gold coin seemed to grown heavy in his pocket. If he were forced to fight, he didn't like his chances.**

"Well Boreas _is_ a god," Luke noted.

**Two seconds at least to summon his blade. Then he'd be facing a god, two of his children, and an army of freeze-dried warriors.**

"At least he thinks out his plans," Original Annabeth said, "Percy never gets that far."

**"Aeolus is the master of the winds, right?" Jason asked. "Why would he want us dead?"**

**"You are demigods," Boreas said, as if this explained everything. "Aeolus's job is to contain the winds, and demigods have always caused him many headaches."**

"Tell me about it," Zeus grumbled.

**"They ask him for favors."**

"Yup," Zeus agreed.

**"They unleash winds and cause chaos. But the final insult was the battle with Typhon last summer..."**

Poseidon groaned, "don't remind us."

**Boreas waved his hand, and a sheet of ice like a flat-screen TV appeared in the air. Images of a battle flickered across the surface - a giant wrapped in storm clouds, wading across a river toward the Manhattan skyline. Tiny, glowing figures - the gods, Jason guessed -**

"Well no duh," Hermes grumbled. "What else could be glowing dots chasing a _giant_?"

**swarmed around him like angry wasps, pounding the monster with lightning and fire. Finally, the river erupted in a massive whirlpool, and the smoky form sank beneath the waves and disappeared.**

"All thanks to me," Poseidon smirked at Zeus, who was glaring back at his brother.

"Actually it was all thanks to your annoying son," Zeus corrected him. "_He _had the idea, you just carried it out."

"Wait," Other Annabeth said, "Hero Percy convinced _a god _to do his idea?"

"He had a good plan," Poseidon said.

"And you listened to him?" Will asked.

"He's my son," Poseidon said, "I'll listen to him when he has something to say."

"I've never heard a god doing such a thing," Other Annabeth said.

"Your gods are really different than our gods," Original Annabeth said.

**"The storm giant, Typhon," Boreas explained. "The first time the gods defeated him, eons ago, he did not die quietly. His death released a host of storm spirits - wild winds that answered to no one. It was Aeolus's job to track them all down and imprison them in his fortress. The other gods - they did not help. They did not even apologize for the inconvenience."**

"He's stupid," Hades huffed.

**"It took Aeolus centuries to track down all the storm spirits, and naturally this irritated him. Then, last summer, Typhon was defeated again -"**

**"And his death released another wave of venti," Jason guessed. "Which made Aeolus even angrier."**

"And he blames this all on demigods?" Athena said, "I mean sure Perseus is annoying, but it was totally his fault that Typhon released storm spirits."

"That was almost a complement," Original Annabeth smiled, "thanks Mom."

**"_C'est vrai,_" Boreas agreed.**

**"But, Your Majesty," Piper said, "the gods had no choice but to battle Typhon. He was going to destroy Olympus! Besides, why punish demigods for that?"**

"That's exactly what I was saying," Athena grumbled.

**Then king shrugged. "Aeolus cannot take out his anger on the gods."**

"Loser."

**"They are his bosses, and very powerful."**

"And he better believe it."

**"So he gets even with the demigods who helped them in the war. He issued orders to us: demigods who come to us for aid are no longer to be tolerated. We are to crush your little mortal faces."**

Travis laughed, "crush your mortal faces."

"Thanks not funny," Conner scowled at him.

Travis frowned.

"Just kidding!" Conner laughed.

They laughed together.

**There was an uncomfortable silence.**

**"That sounds... extreme," Jason ventured. "But you're not going to crush our faces yet, right? You're going to listen to us first, 'cause once you hear about our quest -"**

**"Yes, yes," the king agreed. "You see, Aeolus also said a son of Zeus might seek my aid, and if this happened, I should listen to you before destroying you, as you might - how did he put it? - make all our lives very interesting."**

"That's encouraging," Other Annabeth grumbled.

**"I am only obligated to _listen, _however. After that, I am free to pass judgement as I see fit. But I _will _listen first. Khione wishes this also. It may be that we will not kill you."**

"Well that's cool," Luke said, "I guess."

**Jason felt like he could almost breathe again. "Great. Thanks."**

**"Do not thank me." Boreas smiled. "There are many ways you could make our lives interesting. Sometimes we keep demigods for our amusement, as you can see."**

"Is he talking about Conner and Travis?" Rachel asked. "Because I'm pretty sure that's the only reason that they're still alive, is because they are funny sometimes."

Conner tried to look offended, but then he just nodded. "Yeah, you're right."

**He gestured around the room to the various ice statues.**

"They're demigods," Original Annabeth noticed. "He froze demigods. And now they serve him."

"Well that's very _cold _of him," Travis smirked.

**Piper made a strangled noise. "You mean - they're all demigods? Frozen demigods? They're alive?"**

**"An interesting question," Boreas conceded,**

"It's a rational question," Other Annabeth said.

**as if it had never occurred to him before. "They do not move unless they are obeying my orders. The rest of the time, they are merely frozen. Unless they were to melt, I suppose, which would be very messy."**

"Really?"

**Khione stepped behind Jason and put her cold fingers on his neck.**

"That's not how you flirt," Aphrodite said.

**"My father gives me such lovely presents," she murmured in his ear. "Join our court. Perhaps I'll let your friends go."**

"He should go for it," Percy grumbled. "Living with a hot snow goddess, sounds good to me."

**"What?" Zethes broke in. "If Khione gets this one, then I deserve the girl. Khione always get more presents!"**

"Spoiled brats," Ares grumbled.

"For once I actually agree with you," Athena said.

**"Now, children," Boreas said sternly. "Our guests will think you are spoiled!"**

"They are," Hades said.

**"Besides, you moved too fast. We have not even heard the demigod's story yet. Then we will decide what to do with them. Please, Jason Grace, entertain us."**

**Jason felt his brain shutting down. He didn't look at Piper for fear he'd completely lose it. He'd gotten them into this, and now they were going to die -**

"Boreas said maybe," Conner said.

**or worse, they'd be amusement for Boreas's children and end up frozen forever in this throne room, slowly corroding from freezer burn**

**Khione purred and stroked his neck.**

"Creepy," Silena shivered. Beckendorf was still passed out on her shoulder, and she lovingly held his hand.

**Jason didn't plan it, but electricity sparked along his skin. There was a loud _pop,_**

"He shocked her," Perseus said, "they are totally going to die."

**and Khione flew backward, skidding across the floor.**

"Maybe he did more than just shock her," Luke grumbled.

**Zethes laughed. "That is good! I'm glad you did that, even though I have to kill you now."**

"Sounds like you," Apollo muttered to Artemis.

"If I could I would electrocute you everyday." She mumbled.

**For a moment, Khione was too stunned to react. Then the air around her began to swirl with micro-blizzard. "You dare -"**

**"Stop," Jason ordered, with as much force as he could manage. "You're not going to kill us. And you're not going to keep us. We're on a quest for the queen of the gods herself, so unless you want Hera busting down your doors, you're going to let us go."**

"He doesn't have charmspeak," Athena said, "does he think he can just command himself out of there?"

**Her sounded a lot more confident then he felt, but it got their attention. Khione's blizzard swirled to a stop. Zethes lowered his sword. They both looked uncertainly at their father.**

**"Hmm," Boreas said. His eyes twinkled, but Jason couldn't tell if it was with anger or amusement. "A son of Zeus, favored by Hera? This is definitely a first. Tell us your story."**

"Tell us about it," Original Annabeth said, "Hera doesn't like anyone."

"Shut your mouth."

**Jason would've botched it right there. He hadn't been expecting to get the chance to talk, and now that he could, his voice abandoned him.**

**Piper saved him. "Your Majesty." She curtsied again with incredible poise, considering her life was on the line. She told Boreas the whole story, from the Grand Canyon to the prophecy, much better and faster than Jason could have.**

**"All we ask for is guidance," Piper concluded. "These storm spirits attacked us, and they're working for some evil mistress. If we find them, maybe we can find Hera."**

**The king stroked the icicles in his beard. Out the windows, night had fallen, and the only light came from the aurora borealis overhead, washing everything in red and blue.**

"Sounds pretty," Aphrodite cooed.

**"I know of these storm spirits," Boreas said. "I know where they are kept, and of the prisoner they took."**

"Oh you mean Hedge?" Original Annabeth asked. "The person we totally forgot about until now."

**"You mean Coach Hedge?" Jason asked. "He's alive?"**

"Who knows?" Rachel said, "you don't seem to really care."

**Boreas waved aside the question. "For now. But the one who controls these storm winds... It would be madness to oppose her. You would be better staying here as frozen statues."**

"That's what I'm saying," Percy grumbled.

**"Hera's in trouble," Jason said. "In three days she's gong to be - I don't know - consumed, destroyed, something. And a giant is going to rise."**

**"Yes," Boreas agreed. Was it Jason's imagination, or did he just shoot Khione an angry look?**

"Well you would too," Hades said, "if your immortal daughter was annoying."

**"Many horrible things are waking. Even my children do not tell me all the news they should. The great Stirring of monsters that began with Kronos - your father Zeus foolishly believed it would end with the Titans were defeated."**

"I am not foolish," Zeus scowled.

**"But just as it was before, so it is now. The final battle is yet to come, and the one who will wake is more terrible than any Titan. Storm spirits - these are only beginning. The earth has many more horrors to yield up. When monsters no longer stay in Tartarus, and souls are no longer confined to Hades... Olympus has good reason to fear."**

"What is he talking about?" Other Annabeth asked the gods.

"We won't say anything," Athena said. "You must decide what will happen."

"Great," Original Annabeth said. "We have freakin gods here to tell us the answers and they refuse."

**Jason wasn't sure what all this meant, but he didn't like the way Khione was smiling - like _this _was her definition of fun.**

**"So you'll help us?" Jason asked the king.**

**Boreas scowled. "I did not say that."**

**"Please, Your Majesty," Piper said.**

**Everyone's eyes turned toward her. **

"She's charmspeaking again," Silena sighed.

**She had to be scared out of her mind, but she looked beautiful and confident - and it had nothing to do with the blessing of Aphrodite. **

Aphrodite sighed.

**She looked herself again, in day-old traveling clothes with choppy hair and no makeup. But she almost glowed with warmth in that cold throne room. "If you tell us where the storm spirits are, we can capture them and bring them to Aeolus. You'd look good in front of your boss. Aeolus might pardon us and the other demigods. WE could even rescue Gleeson Hedge. Everyone wins."**

"That's actually not too bad," Athena said.

**"She's pretty," Zethes mumbled. "I mean, she's right."**

"Oh, wow."

**"Father, don't listen to her," Khione said. "She's a child of Aphrodite. She dares to charmspeak a god? Freeze her now!"**

"Oh, shut up."

**Boreas considered this. Jason slipped his hand in his pocket and got ready to bring out the god coin. If things went wrong, he'd have to move fast.**

**The movement caught Boreas's eye.**

"He frozen," Hermes smirked.

**"What is that on your forearm, demigod?"**

**Jason hadn't realized his coat sleeve had gotten pushed up, revealing the edge of his tattoo. Reluctantly, he showed Boreas his marks.**

**The god's eyes widened. Khione actually hissed and stepped away.**

**Then Boreas did something unexpected. He laughed to loudly, an icicle cracked from the ceiling and crashed next to his throne.**

"He thinks it's funny that he's Roman," Original Annabeth said.

"Well it will make a really entertaining war," Ares laughed.

**The god's form began to flicker. His bread disappeared. He grew taller and thinner, and his clothes changed into a Roman toga, lined with purple. His head was crowned with frosty laurel wreath, and a gladius - a Roman sword like Jason's - hung at his side.**

"Cool!" Travis laughed. "You guys go all Roman!" He said to the gods.

Zeus shook his head, "gives me a headache."

**"Aquilon," Jason said, though where he got the god's Roman name from, he had no idea.**

"How long will it take him to figure it out?" Luke asked.

**The god inclined his head. "You recognize me better in this from, yes? And yet you said you came from Camp Half-Blood?"**

"Yeah, he has confusion issues," Rachel laughed.

**Jason shifted his feet. "Uh... yes, Your Majesty."**

**"And Hera sent you there..." The winter god's eyes were full of mirth. "I understand now. Oh, she plays a dangerous game."**

"Tell us about it," Demeter glared at Hera.

"What?" Hera asked.

"If you kill both of the camps, I will hate you forever."

"If both the camps are destroyed, there wont be a future to hate me in," Hera said.

**"Bold, but dangerous! No wonder Olympus is closed. They must be trembling at the gamble she has taken."**

"Or were stuck reading a book," Ares sighed.

**"Jason," Piper said nervously, "why did Boreas change shape? The toga, the wreath. What's going on?"**

**"It's his Roman form," Jason said. "But what's going on - I don't know."**

**The god laughed. "No, I'm sure you don't. This should be very interesting to watch."**

"So he'll let them go?" Clarisse asked.

**"Does that mean you'll let us go?" Piper asked.**

**"My dear," Boreas said, "there is not reason for me to kill you. If Hera's plan fails, which I think it will,"**

"Thanks for the faith," Hera grumbled.

**"You will tear each other apart. Aeolus will never have to worry about demigods again."**

"That's sounds nice," Percy said. "It almost makes me glad that I'm already dead."

**Jason felt as if Khione's cold fingers were on his neck again, but it wasn't her - it was just the feeling that Boreas was right. That sense of wrongness which had bothered Jason since he got to Camp Half-Blood, and Chiron's comment about his arrival being disastrous - Boreas knew what they meant.**

**"I don't supposed you could explain?" Jason asked.**

**"Oh, perish the thought! It is not for me to interfere in Hera's plan. No wonder she took your memory." Boreas chuckled, apparently still having a great time imagining demigods tearing each other apart.**

Ares laughed, "yeah that would be funny."

"Um... Dad?" Clarisse said, "I'm right here."

"Oh, right."

**"You know, I have a reputation as a helpful wind god. Unlike my brethren, I've been known to fall in love with mortals."**

"Sounds like some other people I know," Artemis sighed.

**"Why, my sons Zethes and Calais started as demigods -"**

**"Which explains why they are idiots," Khione growled.**

**"Stop it!" Zethes snapped back. "Just because you were born a full goddess -"**

"Did she just say that all demigods are stupid?" Other Annabeth asked.

Original Annabeth scowled. "If she did I officially really hate her now."

**"Both of you, freeze," Boreas ordered.**

"Literally?" Travis asked.

"Probably," Other Annabeth answered.

**Apparently, that word carried a lot of weight in the household, because the two siblings went absolutely still.**

"Well, that makes sense," Poseidon said.

**"Now, as I was saying, I have a good reputation, but it is rare that Boreas plays an important role in the affairs of the gods. I sit here in my palace, at the edge of civilization, and so rarely have amusements. Why, even that fool Notus, the South Wind, gets spring break in Cancun. What do I get? A winter festival with naked Quebecois rolling around in snow!"**

"Well that sounds horrible," Aphrodite shivered.

"That sounds _awesome!_" Conner and Travis laughed. "Rolling around in _snow_! Naked! I'd totally do that!"

"You do that then," Nico grumbled. "Get frost bite, then you'll never do it again."

"Does frost bite hurt?" Conner asked.

"Roll around in snow and you'll find out," Nico said.

"Okay!"

"Oh, my gods."

**"I like the winter festival," Zethes muttered.**

"Of course he would," Hades sighed, "that makes sense."

**"My point," Boreas snapped, "is that I now have a chance to be the center. Oh, yes, I will let you go on this quest. You will find your storm spirits in the windy city, of course."**

"Chicago," Original Annabeth guessed.

**"Chicago."**

"Your too smart," Luke smirked at her.

"It's what I do," Original Annabeth shrugged.

**"Father!" Khione protested.**

**Boreas ignored his daughter. "If you can capture the winds, you may be able to gain safe entrance to the court of Aeolus. If by some miracle you succeed, be sure to tell him you captured the winds on my orders."**

**"Okay, sure," Jason said.**

"Sound a little more excited," Dionysus grumbled, "the guy just promised not to kill you."

**"So Chicago is where we'll find this lady who's controlling the winds? She's the one who's trapped Hera?"**

**"Ah." Boreas grinned. "Those are two different questions, son of Jupiter."**

"He called him son of Jupiter," Other Annabeth noticed.

"Because he's in his Roman form, and he knows who he is now." Athena said.

_**Jupiter, **_**Jason noticed. _Before, he called me son of Zeus._**

**"The one who controls the winds," Boreas continued, "yes, you will find her in Chicago. But _she _is only a servant - a servant who is very likely to destroy you. If you succeed against her and take the winds, then you may go to Aeolus. Only he had knowledge of all the winds on the earth. All secrets come to his fortress eventually. If anyone can tell you where Hera is imprisoned, it is Aeolus. As for who you will meet when you finally find Hera's cage - truly, if I told you that, you would beg me to freeze you."**

"That means something big is coming," Silena said.

**"Father," Khione protested, "you can't simply let them -"**

**"I can do what I like," he said, his voice hardening. "I am still master here, am I not?"**

"Ohh," Travis whistled, "snappy."

**The way Boreas glared at his daughter, it was obvious they had some ongoing argument. Khione's eyes flashed with anger, but she clenched her teeth. "As you wish, Father."**

**"Now go, demigods." Boreas said, "before I change my mind. Zethes, escort them out safely."**

**They all bowed, and the god of the North Wind dissolved into mist.**

"Well that went better than expected," Luke said.

"I wanted at least _one _person get frozen!" Ares groaned.

**Back in the entry hall, Cal and Leo were waiting for them. Leo looked cold but unharmed. He'd even gotten cleaned up, and his clothes looked newly washed, like he's used the hotel's valet service. Festus the dragon was back in normal form, snorting fire over his scales to keep himself defrosted.**

**As Khione lead them down the stairs, Jason noticed that Leo's eyes followed her. Leo started combing his hair back with his hands.**

"He better not start hitting on her," Silena said, "she might freeze him."

**Uh-oh, Jason thought. He made a mental note to warn Leo about the snow goddess later. She was not someone to get a crush on.**

**At the bottom step, Khione turned toward Piper. "You have fooled my father, girl . But you have not fooled me. We are not done. And you, Jason Grace, I will see you as a statue in the throne room soon enough."**

"Sounds like everyone in this book wants a Jason statue," Silena noticed.

**"Boreas is right," Jason said. "Your a spoiled kid. See you around, ice princess."**

"Oh, no he didn't!" Apollo said.

Artemis sighed, "I hate you some times."

**Khione's eyes flared pure white. For once, she seemed at a loss for words. She stormed back up the stairs - literally. Halfway up, she turned into a blizzard and disappeared.**

"That's a cool way to get away from a fight," Percy said.

**"Be careful," Zethes warned. "She never forgets and insult."**

"That's a little late to say," Luke smirked.

**Cal grunted in agreement, "bad sister."**

**"She's the goddess of snow," Jason said. "What's she going to do, throw snowballs at us?" But as he said it, Jason had a feeling Khione could do a whole lot worse."**

"Yes," Poseidon said, "yes she can."

**Leo looked devastated. "What happened up there? You made her mad? Is she mad at me too? Guys, that was my prom date!"**

"Is he going to do this the entire book?" Calrisse asked.

**"We'll explain later," Piper promised, but when she glanced at Jason, he realized she expected _him _to explain.**

"Is that bad?" Percy asked, "she just explained your whole story up in the room, but now you can't explain anything? What are you too lazy?"

**What _had _happened up there? Jason wasn't sure. Boreas had turned into Aquilon, his Roman form, as if Jason presence caused him to go schizophrenic.**

**The idea that Jason had been sent to Camp Half-Blood seemed to amuse the god, but Boreas/Aquilon hadn't let them go out of kindness. Cruel excitement had danced in his eyes, as if he'd just placed a bet on a dogfight. **

_**You will tear each other apart, **_**he had said with delight. _Aeolus will never have to worry about demigods again._**

"Aeolus is seriously annoying me this chapter," Poseidon murmured.

"Why, Because he's pretty much direction all his anger at your son?" Hades asked.

**Jason looked away from Piper, trying not to show how unnerved he was. "Yeah," he agreed, "we'll explain later."**

**"Be careful, pretty girl," Zethes said. "The winds between here and Chicago are bad-tempered. Many other evil things are stirring. I am sorry you will not be staying. You would make a lovely ice statue, in which I could check my reflection."**

**"Thanks," Piper said. "but I'd sooner play hockey with Cal."**

**"Hockey?" Cal's eyes lit up.**

**"Joking," Piper said. "And the storm winds aren't our worst problem, are they?"**

**"Oh, no," Zethes agreed. "Something else. Something worse."**

"There's always something worse," Other Annabeth said. "It's nothing new."

**"Worse," Cal echoed.**

**"Can you tell me?" Piper gave them a smile.**

**This time, the charm didn't work. The purple-winged Boreads shook their heads in unison. The hangar doors opened onto a freezing starry night, and Festus the dragon stomped his feet, anxious to fly.**

**"Ask Aeolus what is worse," Zethes said darkly. "He knows. Good luck."**

**He almost sounded like he cared what happened to them, even though a few minuets ago he'd wanted to make Piper into an ice sculpture.**

**Cal patted Leo on the shoulder. "Don't get destroyed," he said, which was probably the longest sentence he'd ever attempted. "Next time - hockey. Pizza."**

"That's sweet," Aphrodite said.

**"Come on, guys." Jason stared out at the dark. He was anxious to get out of that cold penthouse, but he had a feeling it was the most hospitable place they'd see for a while. "Let's go to Chicago and try not to get destroyed."**

"That's it," Nico said.

"I'll read next," Artemis said. "It might get give me a reason to ignore my stupid brother."

"Hey, I'm not stupid," Apollo protested. "I'm special."

"You said it not me," Ares said.

Apollo pouted.

**END OF JASON 20**


	23. Piper 21

**I'm glade I surprised you guys by bringing in older Nico. Everyone was asking for him, and I didn't just want to bring in normal Nico. So I thought up older Nico!**

**I am so proud.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

**PIPER 21**

**Piper didn't relax until the glow of Quebec City faded behind them.**

**"You were amazing," Jason told her.**

"That's so cute!" Aphrodite smiled. "They are going to get really close during this quest!"

"Quests can do that to you," Other Annabeth said.

**The compliment should've made her day. But all she could think about was the trouble ahead. _Evil things are stirring, _Zethes had warned them. She knew that firsthand. The closer they got to the solstice, the less time Piper had to make her decision.**

"She's not going to betray them," Percy said, "she's too weak."

"Or too strong," Other Annabeth said.

**She told Jason in French: "If you knew the truth about me, you wouldn't think I was so amazing."**

"But he won't know what she's saying," Luke pointed out.

"Still, she gets it off her back, by saying it out loud to his face," Silena said.

**"What'd you say?" he asked.**

**"I said I only talked to Boreas. It wasn't so amazing."**

**She didn't turn to look, but she imagined him smiling.**

**"Hey," he said, "you saved me from joining Khione's subzero hero collection. I owe you one."**

"Or you owe her your life," Clarisse said.

**The was definitely the easy part, she thought. There was no way Piper would've let that ice witch keep Jason. **

"Who would?" Aphrodite said.

**What had bothered Piper more was the way Boreas had changed form and why he'd let them go. It had something to do with Jason's past, those tattoos on his arm. Boreas assumed Jason was some sort of Roman, and Romans didn't mix with Greeks.**

"No, no they don't," Original Annabeth grumbled.

Nico smirked.

**She kept waiting for Jason to offer an explanation, but he clearly didn't want to talk about it.**

**Until now, Piper had been able to dismiss Jason's feeling that he didn't belong at Camp Half-Blood. Obviously he was a demigod.**

"Well yeah."

**But now... what if he was something else?**

"Like what, a god?" Hades wondered.

**What if he really was an enemy? She couldn't stand that idea any more than she could stand Khione.**

**Leo passed them some sandwiches from his pack. He'd been quiet ever since they'd told him what happened in the throne room. "I still can't believe Khione," he said. "She looked so nice."**

"Looking and being are two different things," Silena said.

**"Trust me, man," Jason said. "Snow may be pretty, but up close it's cold and nasty. We'll find you a better prom date."**

**Piper smiled, but Leo didn't look pleased. He hadn't said much about his time in the palace, or why the Boreads had singled him out for smelling like fire. Piper got the feeling he was hiding something. Whatever it was, his mood seemed to be affecting Festus, who grumbled and steamed as he tried to keep himself warm in the cold Canadian air. Happy the Dragon was not so happy.**

"I don't think anyone would be happy," Apollo shivered. "I hate the cold."

**They ate their sandwiches as they flew. Piper had no idea how Leo had stocked up on supplies, but he'd even remembered to bring veggie rations for her. The cheese avocado sandwich was awesome.**

"Gross," Travis wrinkled his nose. "I hate avocado."

**Nobody talked. Whatever they might find in Chicago they all knew Boreas had only let them go because he figured they were already on a suicide mission.**

"Again, that must really help their moral," Rachel said.

**The moon rose and stars turned overhead. Piper's eyes started to feel heavy. The encounter with Boreas and his children had scared her more than she wanted to admit. Now that she had a full stomach, her adrenaline was fading.**

_**Suck it up, cupcake! **_**Coach Hedge would've yelled at her. _Don't be a wimp._**

"That's what I would've said," Ares said.

**Piper had been thinking about the coach ever since Boreas mentioned he was still alive.**

"At least someone is," Original Annabeth said.

**She'd never liked Hedge, but he'd leaped off a cliff to save Leo, and he'd sacrificed himself to protect them on the skywalk.**

"It's his job," Other Annabeth said.

**She now realized that all the times at school the coach had pushed her, yelled at her to run faster or do more push-ups, or even when he'd turned his back and let her fight her own battles with the mean girls, the old goat man had been trying to help her in his own irritating way - trying to prepare her for life as a demigod.**

"I wish I had one of those," Will muttered.

**On the skywalk, Dylan the storm spirit had said something about the coach, too: how he'd been retired to Wilderness School because he was getting too old, like it was some sort of punishment. Piper wondered what that was about, and if it explained why the coach was always so grumpy. Whatever the truth, now that Piper knew Hedge was alive, she had a strong compulsion to save him.**

"While Leo and Jason doesn't give a crap," Luke said.

**Don't get ahead of yourself, she chided. You've got bigger problems. This trip won't have a happy ending.**

"Way to think positive," Hades said.

"When have you?" Demeter asked him.

Hades shrugged, "never when I'm around you."

**She was a traitor, just like Silena Beauregard.**

"Again with that," Silena sighed.

Original Annabeth rubbed her back, "Piper wouldn't say that if she heard about it from anyone else but Drew. She has nothing else to believe."

**It was only a matter of time before her friends find out.**

**She looked up at the stars and thought about a night long ago when she and her dad had camped out in front of Grandpa Tom's house. Grandpa Tom died years before, but Dad had kept him house in Oklahoma because it was where he grew up.**

**They'd gone back for a few days, with the idea of getting the place fixed up to sell, although Piper wasn't sure who'd want to bug a run-down cabin with shutters instead of windows and two tiny rooms that smelled like cigars. The first night bad been so stifling hot - no air conditioning in the middle of August - that Dad suggested they sleep outside.**

"That's sounds fun!" Aphrodite smiled.

"I do it every night," Artemis said.

"Can I come with you next time?!"

"No." Artemis smiled, "but you can ask Apollo if you can go with him. He likes camping."

Apollo sighed, "I do like camping."

Aphrodite cheered, "so I get to come! Thanks Apollo!"

"Wait, what?" Apollo asked, confused.

"Your screwed brother dear," Artemis smirked.

**They'd spread their sleeping bags and listened to the cicadas buzzing in the trees. Piper pointed out the constellations she'd been reading about - Hercules, Apollo's lyre, Sagittarius the centaur.**

"I was mentioned!" Apollo cheered.

"More like your lyre was mentioned," Ares said.

"Same thing!"

**Her dad crossed his arms behind his head. In his old T-shirt ad jeans he looked just like another guy from Tahlequah, Oklahoma, a Cherokee who might've never left the tribal lands.**

Aphrodite sighed, "hot!" she squealed.

"I'm right here dear," Hephaestus grumbled, but didn't look to offended. Everyone knew that he was used to his wife's comments.

**"Your grandpa would say those Greek patterns are a bunch of bull."**

Artemis huffed.

**"He told me the stars were creatures with glowing fur, like magic hedgehogs."**

"And you'd rather believe in gods, than glowing hedgehogs." Percy said.

**"Once, long ago, some hunters even captured a few in the forest. They didn't know what they'd done until nighttime, when the star creatures began to glow. Golden sparks flew from their fur, so the Cherokee released them back into the sky."**

**"You believe in magic hedgehogs?" Piper asked.**

**Her dad laughed. "I think Grandpa Tom was full of bull, too, just like the Greeks."**

All the Greek Gods grumbled some sort of insult, and shifted in their chairs with anger.

**"But it's a big sky. I suppose there's room for Hercules and hedgehogs."**

**They sat for a while, until Piper got the nerve to ask a question that had been bugging her. "Dad, why don't you ever play Native American parts?"**

**The week before, he'd turned down several million dollars to play Tonto in a remake of _The Lone Ranger. _Piper was still trying to figure out why. He'd played all kinds of roles - a Latino teacher in a tough L.A. school, a dashing Israeli spy in an action-adventure blockbuster, even a Syrian terrorist in a James Bond move. And, of course, he would always be known as the King of Sparta. But if the part was Native American - it didn't matter what _kind _of role it was - Dad turned it down.**

"That is strange," Athena said.

**He winked at her. "Too close to home, Pipes. Easier to pretend I'm something I'm not."**

"That's deep," Luke muttered.

**"Doesn't that get old? Aren't you ever tempted, like, if you found the perfect part that could change people's opinions?"**

**"If there was a part like that, Pipes," he said sadly, "I haven't found it."**

Aphrodite sighed happily.

**She looked at the stars, trying to imagine them as glowing hedgehogs. All she saw were the stick figures she knew - Hercules running across the sky, on his way to kill monsters. Dad was probably right. The Greeks and the Cherokee were equally crazy.**

"Except we were telling stories of our heroes," Hades said.

**The stars were just balls of fire.**

"She does have that part right," Artemis said, "but _I _get to arrange them into consolations."

"Well aren't you amazing," Ares said sarcastically.

"Shut up, meat head."

**"Dad," she said, "if you don't like being close to home, why are we sleeping in Grandpa Tom's yard?"**

"Ha," Zeus chuckled, "good point."

**His laughter echoed in the quiet Oklahoma night. "I think you know me too well, Pipes."**

**"You're not really going to sell this place, are you?"**

**"Nope," he sighed. "I'm probably not."**

"That's sweet," Hera said, "father and daughter."

**Piper blinked, shaking herself out of the memory. She realized she'd been falling asleep on the dragon's back. How could her dad pretend to be so many things he wasn't? She was trying to do that now, and it was tearing her apart.**

**Maybe she could pretend for a little while longer. She could dream of finding a way to save her father without betraying her friends - even if right now a happy ending seemed about as likely as magic hedgehogs.**

**She leaned back against Jason's warm chest. He didn't complain. **

Aphrodite squealed, "they're getting closer!"

**As soon as she closed her eyes, she drifted off to sleep.**

"Reminds me of someone else," Silena whispered, as she rested against her sleeping boyfriend's shoulder.

**In her dream,**

Percy groaned, "another dream."

**she was back on the mountaintop. The ghostly purple bonfire cast shadows across the trees. Piper's eyes stung from smoke, and the ground was so warm, the soles of her boots felt sticky.**

"I hate it when your boots melt," Hephaestus muttered, "I've gone through nine pairs just this week!"

**A voice from the dark rumbled, "You forget your duty."**

Travis laughed, "she said duty."

**Piper couldn't see him, but it was definitely her least favorite giant - the one who called himself Enceladus. She looked around for any sign of her father, but the pole where he'd been chained was no longer there.**

**"Where is he?" she demanded. "What've you done with him?"**

"Ate him," Ares said.

Aphrodite glared at him.

"What?" he said, looking defensive, "that's just what giants do."

**The giant's laugh was like lava hissing down a volcano. **

"How can a laugh sound like that?" Conner asked, then he tried numerous laughters trying to mimic the sound.

"Conner, shut up," Clarisse said.

**"His body is safe enough, thought I fear the poor man's mind can't take much more of my company. For some reason he finds me - disturbing."**

"Everyone finds you disturbing," Poseidon grumbled, "it's not just him."

"It's going to break him to know that we exist," Aphrodite said seriously. "He's going to go mad!"

**"You must hurry, girl, or I fear there will be little left of him to save."**

**"Let him go!" she screamed. "Take me instead. He'd just a mortal!"**

**"But, my dear," the giant rumbled, "we must prove our love for our parents. That's what _I'm _doing. Show me you value your father's life by doing what I ask. Who's more important - your father, or a deceitful goddess who used you, toyed with your emotions, manipulated your memories, eh? What is Hera to you?"**

"He has a good point," Poseidon said.

"Shut up," Hera growled.

"Well it's true," Poseidon said, "you're totally using her."

"Shut up!"

"Fine, fine." he chuckled, "but you know I'm right."

**Piper began to tremble. So much anger and fear boiled inside her, she could hardly talk. "You're asked me to betray my friends."**

**"Sadly, my dear, your friends are destined to die. Their quest is impossible. Even if you succeeded, you heard the prophecy: unleashing Hera's rage would mean your destruction. the only question now - will you die with your friends, or live with your father?"**

"It's a trap," Original Annabeth said. "He's not going to let her live, if she goes there."

**The bonfire roared. Piper tried to step back, but her feet were heavy. She realized the ground was pulling her down, clinging to her boots like wet sand. When she looked up, a shower of purple sparks had spread across the sky, and the sun was rising in the east. A patchwork of cities glowed in the valley below, and far to the west, over a line of rolling hills, she saw a familiar landmark rising from the sea of fog.**

"He's telling her where they are," Athena noticed.

"Thanks Caption Obvious," Hermes smirked.

**"Why are you showing me this?" Piper asked. "You're revealing where you are."**

**"You, you know this place," the giant said. "Lead your friends here instead of their true destination, and I will deal with them. Or even batter, arrange their deaths before you arrive. I don't care which. Just be at the summit by noon on the solstice, and you may collect your father and go in peace."**

"That sounds horrible," Silena said.

"That's what I'd do," Percy sated.

**"I can't," Piper said. "You can't ask me -"**

"He just did," said Hermes.

**"To betray that foolish boy Valdez, who always irritated you and is now hiding secrets from you?"**

"Hey Leo is awesome!" Apollo laughed, "he can't die."

"For once I actually agree with you, Apollo," Hephaestus said.

**"To give up a boyfriend you never really had?"**

"She can still get him," Aphrodite said.

**"Is that more important than your own father."**

"He has another point," Poseidon said.

**"I'll find a way to defeat you," Piper said. "I'll save my father _and _my friends."**

**The giant growled in the shadows. "I was once proud too. I thought the gods could never defeat me."**

Ares laughed, "we can defeat _everyone_!"

"A little big headed much?" Artemis asked.

**"Then they hurled a mountain on top of me, crushed me into the ground, where I struggled for eons, half-conscious in pain."**

Zeus chuckled, "he deserved it."

**"That taught me patience, girl. It taught me not to act rashly. Now I've clawed my way back with the help of the waking earth."**

Athena paled.

**"I am only the first. My brethren will follow. We will not be denied our vengeance - not this time. And you, Piper McLean, need a lesson in humility. I'll show you how easily your rebellious spirit can be brought to earth."**

"Literally," Athena grumbled.

**The dream dissolved. And Piper woke up screaming, free falling through the air.**

"Cliff hanger," Artemis sighed. "I hate those."

"I'll read," Hades said. "This is getting interesting."

"To a degree," Hera grumbled.

**END OF PIPER 21**


	24. Piper 22

**Another chapter...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

**Piper tumbled through the sky. Far below she saw city lights glimmering in the early dawn, and several hundred yards away the body of the bronze spinning out of control, its wings limp, fire flickering in its mouth like a badly wired lightbulb.**

"They'll be fine," Other Annabeth said, "Jason can fly."

"But can he carry three people?" Poseidon said.

Original Annabeth shrugged, "I guess we'll find out."

**A body shot past her - Leo, screaming and frantically grabbing at the clouds. "Not coooool!"**

**She tried to call to him, but he was already far below. **

**Somewhere above her, Jason yelled, "Piper, level out! Extend your arms and legs!"**

**It was hard to control her fear, but she did what he said and regained some balance. She fell spread-eagle like a skydiver,**

"That sounds fun," Travis said.

"Yeah, but with a parachute," Conner added.

**the wind underneath her like a solid block of ice.**

"And in the summer time," Travis said.

**Then Jason was there, wrapping his arms around her waist.**

"Is it going to be another one of those chapters?" Percy asked.

**Thank god, Piper thought. But part of her also thought: Great. Second time this week he's hugged me, and both times it's because I'm plummeting to my death.**

"Yeah, that kinda sucks for you," Silena said.

**"We have to get Leo!" she shouted.**

"That would be nice," Hephaestus said. "Not letting him plummet to his death because you guys are too busy hugging."

**Their fall slowed as Jason controlled the winds, but they still lurched up and down like the winds didn't want to cooperate. **

**"Gonna get rough," Jason warned. "Hold on!"**

**Piper locked her arms around him, and Jason shot toward the ground. Piper probably screamed.**

"Who wouldn't?"

**But the sound was ripped from her mouth. Her vision blurred.**

**And then,** **_thump!_**

"Went their dead bodies as they hit the ground," Ares said. "That's how it's supposed to end."

"No, no it's not," Hephaestus glared at him.

**They slammed into another warm body - Leo, still wriggling and cursing.**

**"Stop fighting!" Jason said. "It's me!"**

**"My dragon!" Leo yelled. "You gotta save Festus!"**

"Like he could stop a hunk of bronze metal while holding you two," Percy scowled. "He's the son of Jupiter, not Superman."

**Jason was already struggling to keep the three of them aloft, and Piper knew there was no way he could help a fifty ton metal dragon. But before she could try to reason with Leo, she heard an explosion below them. A fireball rolled into the sky from behind a warehouse complex, and Leo sobbed, "Festus!"**

Hephaestus winced like the thought of a perfectly good machine falling out of the sky hurt him physically.

**Jason's face reddened with strain as he tried to maintain an air cushion beneath them, but intermittent slow-downs were the best he could manage. Rather than free-falling, it felt like they were bouncing down a giant staircase, a hundred feet at a time, which wasn't doing Piper's stomach any favors.**

**As they wobbled and zigzagged, Piper could make out details of the factory complex below - warehouses, smoke stacks, barbed-wire fences, and parking lots lined with snow covered vehicles. They were still high enough so that hitting the ground would flatten them into roadkill - or skykill -**

Conner laughed, "I don't get it."

**when Jason groaned, "I can't -"**

**And they dropped like stones.**

Aphrodite and Hephaestus paled, Zeus didn't move an inch.

**They hit the roof of the largest warehouse and crashed through into darkness.**

**Unfortunately, Piper tried to land on her feet. Her feet didn't lie that. Pain flared in her left ankle as she crumpled against a cold metal surface.**

Aphrodite winced, "she broke her ankle." She groaned, "just our luck."

"You guys are gods," Percy said, "why can't you just, yeah know, pop in there and save them?"

"The Fates wont let us," Hephaestus grumbled, "were just as stuck in this room as you. Until the fates decide to pop us out."

**For a few seconds she wasn't conscious of anything but pain - pain so bad that her ears rang and her vision went red. **

**Then she heard Jason's voice somewhere below, echoing through the building. "Piper! Where's Piper?"**

"If she is hurt badly," Aphrodite said, "and if she dies... I'll, I'll... I'll..." Aphrodite's eyes turned stormy gray, and her hair turned ink black, she clenched her hands into fists.

"Aphrodite," Athena said soothingly, "she'll be fine. The story continues, and I'm sure, that when I flipped through I saw more of her chapters farther in the story."

Aphrodite changed back to a brunette with brown eyes, "you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Okay. But I'm still worried about her."

**"Ow, bro!" Leo groaned.**

Hephaestus sighed in relief, "at least he's alive."

**"That's my back! I'm not a sofa! Piper, where'd you go?"**

**"Here," she managed, her voice a whimper.**

**She heard shuffling and grunted, then feet pounding on metal steps.**

"Boy are so loud when they walk," Silena sighed. "It's annoying."

"I don't walk loudly," Conner defended. "I just don't like to pick up my feet, so I shuffle a lot."

"Lazy," Clarisse muttered.

**Her vision began to clear. She was on a metal catwalk that ringed the warehouse interior. Leo and Jason had landed on ground level, and were now coming up the stairs toward her. She looked at her foot, and a wave of nausea swept over her.**

"This is going to be gross," Travis sighed.

**Her toes weren't supposed to point that way, were they?**

"That's bad."

**Oh, god. She forced herself to look away before she threw up. Focus on something else. Anything else.**

"I don't think that will do much good," Demeter said.

**The hole they'd made in the roof was ragged starburst twenty feet above. How they'd even survived that drop, she had no idea. Hanging from the ceiling, a few electric bulbs flickered dimly, but they didn't do much to light the enormous space. Next to Piper, the corrugated metal wall was emblazoned with a company logo, but it was almost completely spray-painted over with graffiti. down in the shadowy warehouse, she could make out huge machines, robotic arms half-finished trucks on an assembly line. The place looked like it had been abandoned for years.**

"Who would just leave a perfectly usable warehouse like that?" Hephaestus asked no one really, "those machines must still be working, or if not, surly you can fix them."

"Mortals are weird," Dionysus grumbled.

"Hey!" Rachel defended.

**Jason and Leo reached her side. **

**Leo started to ask, "You okay..." Then he saw her foot. "Oh no, your not."**

Some of the boys laughed.

**"Thanks for the reassurance," Piper groaned.**

**"You'll be fine," Jason said, though Piper could hear the worry in his voice. "Leo, you got any first aid supplies?"**

**"Yeah - yeah, sure." He dug around in his tool belt and pulled out a wad of gauze and a roll of duct tape - both of which seemed too big for the belt's pockets. Piper had noticed the tool belt yesterday morning, but she hadn't thought to ask Leo about it. It didn't look like anything special - just one of those wraparound leather aprons with a bunch of pockets, like a blacksmith or a carpenter might wear. And it seemed to be empty.**

"What? That's weird," Percy said.

"It's probably magic," Original Annabeth said. "Being able to pull anything out of it that you'd want. Or something like that."

**"How did you -" Piper tried to sit up, and winced. "How did you pull that stuff form an empty belt?"**

**"Magic," Leo said. **

"Cool," Beckendorf said still half asleep.

**"Haven't figured it out completely, but I can summon just about any regular tool out of the pockets, plus some other helpful stuff." He reached into another pocket and pulled out a little tin box. "Breath mint?"**

Conner and Travis laughed.

**Jason snatched away the mints. "That's great, Leo. Now, can you fix her foot?"**

"That's a little mean," Hades said. "He was just explaining how the belt works."

Demeter groaned.

**"I'm a mechanic, man. Maybe if she was a car..." He snapped his figures. "Wait, what was that godly healing stuff they fed you at camp - Rambo food?"**

"Ambrosia," Other Annabeth said. "That'll help.

**"Ambrosia, dummy," Piper said through gritted teeth. "There should be some in my bag, if it's not crushed.**

**Jason carefully pulled her backpack off her shoulders. He rummaged through the supplies the Aphrodite kids had packed for her, and found a Ziploc full of smashed pastry squares like lemon bars. He broke off a piece and fed it to her.**

"I wonder what it's going to taste like to her," Luke asked.

**The taste was nothing like she expected. It reminded her of Dad's black bean soup from when she was a little girl. He used to feed it to her whenever she get sick. The memory relaxed her, though it made her sad. The pain in her ankle subsided.**

**"More," she said.**

"Do it!" Ares chuckled, "give the girl enough so that she burns!"

Aphrodite turned dark and stormy again.

"Never mind, don't giver her more. I take it back," Ares whimpered, and Aphrodite turned back to normal.

**Jason frowned. "Piper, we shouldn't risk it. They said too much could burn you up. I think I should try and set your foot."**

Everyone groaned.

**Piper's stomach fluttered. "Have you ever done that before?"**

**"Yeah... I think so."**

"He totally hasn't."

**Leo found an old piece of wood and broke it in half for a splint. Then he got the gauze and duct tape ready.**

**"Hold her leg still," Jason told him. "Piper, this is going to hurt."**

Aphrodite winced.

**When Jason set the foot, Piper flinched so hard she punched Leo in the arm, and he yelled almost as much as she did.**

Conner and Travis started laughing again.

**When her vision cleared and she could breathe normally again, she found that her foot was pointing the right way, her ankle splinted with plywood, gauze, and duct tape.**

**"Ow," she said.**

**"Jeez, beauty queen!" Leo rubbed his arm. "Glad my face wasn't there."**

"That would be funny," Percy said.

**"Sorry," she said. "And don't call me 'beauty queen,' or I'll punch you again."**

**"You both did great." Jason found a canteen in Piper's pack and gave her some water. After a few minuets, her stomach began to calm down.**

**Once she wasn't screaming in pain, she could hear the wind howling outside. Snowflakes fluttered through the hole in the roof, and after their meeting with Khione, snow was the last thing Piper wanted to see.**

"She might be the reason that the dragon died," said Poseidon.

**"What happened to the dragon?" she asked. "Where are we?"**

**Leo's expression turned sullen. "I don't know with Festus. He just jerked sideways like he hit an invisible wall and started to fall."**

"That's weird," Dionysus muttered from behind his magazine.

**Piper remembered Enceladus's warning: _I'll show you how easily your rebellious spirit can be brought to__ earth._**

Artemis sighed, "I wish he would do that to Apollo."

"What? I'm completely down to earth!" Apollo yelled.

"Your the sun," Hades said, "your not supposed to be brought to earth.

**Had he managed to strike them down from so far away? It seemed impossible. If he were that powerful, why would he need her to betray her friends when he could just kill them himself? And how could the giant be keeping an eyes on her in a snowstorm thousands of miles away.**

"Pretty easily, actually." Demeter said.

**Leo pointed to the logo on the wall. "As far as where we are..." It was hard to see through the graffiti, but Piper could make out a large red eye with the stenciled words: _MONOCLE MOTORS, ASSEMBLY PLANT 1._**

"That sounds familiar," Hephaestus muttered.

**"Closed car plant," Leo said. "I'm guessing we crash landed in Detroit."**

**Piper had heard about closed car plants in Detroit, so that made sense. But it seemed like a pretty depressing place to land. "How far it that from Chicago?"**

**Jason handed her the canteen. "Maybe three-fourths of the way from Quebec? The thing is, without the dragon, we're tuck traveling overland."**

"That's exactly what the prophecy told you not to do," Original Annabeth said.

**"No way," Leo said. "It isn't safe."**

**Piper thought about the way the ground had pulled at her feet in the dream, and what King Boreas had said about the earth yielding up more horrors. "He's right. Besides, I don't know if I can walk. And three people - Jason, you can't fly that many across the country by yourself."**

"Really?"

**"No way," Jason said. "Leo, are you sure the dragon didn't malfunction? I mean, Festus is old, and -"**

**"And I might not have repaired him right?"**

**"I didn't say that," Jason protested. "It's just - maybe you could fix it."**

"Maybe? The dragon fell out of the _sky_!" Luke muttered.

**"I don't know." Leo sounded crestfallen. He pulled a few screws out of his pockets and started fiddling with them. "I'd have to find where he landed, if he'd even in one piece."**

**"It was my fault." Piper said without thinking.**

"How could it be her fault?" Original Annabeth thought aloud.

**She just couldn't stand it anymore. The secret about her father was heating up inside her like too much ambrosia. If she kept lying to her friends, she felt like she'd burn to ashes.**

**"Piper," Jason said gently, "you were asleep when Festus conked out. It couldn't be your fault."**

**"Yeah, you're just shaken up," Leo agreed. He didn't even try to make a joke at her expense. "You're in pain. Just rest."**

**She wanted to tell them everything, but the words stuck in her throat. they were both being so kind to her. Yet if Enceladus was watching her somehow, saying the wrong thing could get her father killed.**

"That's a tough situation," Rachel agreed.

**Leo stood. "Look, um, Jason, why don't you stay with her, bro? I'll scout around for Festus. I think he fell outside the warehouse somewhere. If I can find him, maybe I can figure out what happened and fix him."**

"Yeah, leave those two alone!" Aphrodite smiled.

**"It's too dangerous," Jason said. "You shouldn't go by yourself."**

**"Ah, I got duct tape and breath mints. I'll be fine," Leo said, a little too quickly, and Piper realized he was a lot more shaken up then he was letting on. "You guys just don't run off without me."**

"I don't think they'll do much of that," Poseidon noted.

**Leo reached into his magic tool belt, pulled out a flashlight, and headed down the stairs, leaving Piper and Jason alone.**

Aphrodite squealed.

**Jason gave her a smile, though he looked kind of nervous. It was the exact expression he'd had on his face after he'd kissed her the first time, up on the Wilderness School dorm roof - that cute little scar on his lip curving into a crescent. The memory gave her a warm feeling. Then she remembered that the kill had never really happened.**

"How many times does she have to remind herself that?" Perseus asked.

**"You look better," Jason offered.**

**Piper wasn't sure if he meant her foot, or the fact that she wasn't magically beautified anymore. Her jeans were tattered from the fall through the roof. Her boots were splattered with melted dirty snow. She didn't know what her face looked like, but probably horrible.**

**Why did it matter? She'd never cared about things like that before. She wondered if it was her stupid mother,**

Aphrodite huffed.

**the goddess of love, messing with her thoughts. If Piper started getting urges to read fashion magazines, she was going to have to find Aphrodite and smack her.**

Aphrodite muttered something under her breath.

**She decided to focus on her ankle instead. As long as she didn't move it, the pain wasn't bad. "You did a good job," she told Jason. "Where'd you learn first aid?"**

"He doesn't remember, just like he doesn't remember anything else," Percy grumbled. "Or did you forget? Again?"

**He shrugged. "Same answer as always. I don't know."**

**"But you're starting to have some memories, aren't you? Like that prophecy in Latin back at camp, or that dream about the wolf."**

"He might eventually get it back over time," Original Annabeth said.

**"It's fuzzy," he said. "Like deja vu. Ever forgotten a word of a name, and you know it should be like on the top of your tongue, but it isn't?"**

"All the time," Ares said.

Athena laughed, "that's just because your stupid."

**"It's like that - only with my whole life."**

**Piper sort of knew what he meant. The last three months - a life she thought she'd had, a relationship with Jason - had turned out to be Mist.**

_**A boyfriend you never really had,**_** Enceladus had said. _Is that more important than your own father?_**

**She should've kept her mouth shut, but she voiced the question that had been on her mind since yesterday.**

"I could think a lot of questions she wants to ask him," Conner said.

Rachel sighed, "you guys are so sick minded."

**"That photo in your pocket," she said. "Is that someone from your past?"**

**Jason pulled back.**

"She screwed everything us," Ares said.

**"I'm sorry," she said. "None of my business. Forget it."**

**"No - it's okay." his features relaxed. "Just, I'm trying to figure thins out. Her name's Thalia. She's my sister. I don't remember any details. I'm not even sure how I know, but - um, why are you smiling?"**

Even Dionysus chuckled, "she's seriously digging herself a hole."

**"Nothing." Piper tried to kill the smile. _Not _an old girlfriend. She felt ridiculously happy. "Um, it's just - that's great you rmemebered. Annabeth told me she became a Hunter of Artemis, right?"**

**Jason nodded. "I get the feeling I'm supposed to find her, Hera left me that memory for a reason. It's got something to do with this quest. But... I also have the feeling it could be dangerous. I'm not sure I _want _to find out the truth. Is that crazy?"**

"Depends," Original Annabeth said.

**"No," Piper said. "Not at all."**

**She stared at the logo on the wall: _MONOCLE MOTORS, _the single red eye. Something about that logo bothered her.**

Hephaestus paled.

**Maybe it was the idea Enceladus was watching her, holding her father for leverage. She had to save him, but how could she betray her friends?**

**"Jason," she said. "Speaking of the truth, I need to tell you something - something about my dad -"**

**She didn't get the chance. Somewhere below, metal clanged against metal, like a door slamming shut. The sound echoed through the warehouse.**

"What is it?" Poseidon asked.

Hephaestus scowled, "nothing good."

**Jason stood. He took out his coin and flipped it, snatching his golden sword out of the air. He peered over the railing. **

**"Leo?" he called.**

**No answer.**

"It's a monster!" Ares said, "perfect! Some more action!"

**He crouched next to Piper. "I don't like this."**

**"He could be in trouble," Piper said. "Go check."**

**"I can't leave you alone."**

**"I'll be fine." She felt terrified, but she wasn't about to admit it. She drew her dagger Katioptris and tried to look confident. "Anyone get close, I'll skewer them."**

"Threatening," Percy grumbled.

**Jason hesitated. "I'll leave you the pack. If I'm not back in five minuets -"**

**"Panic?" she suggested.**

**He managed a smile. "Glad you're back to normal. The makeup and the dress were a lot more intimidating than the dagger."**

**"Get going, Sparky, before I skewer _you_."**

"This is not the time to crack jokes," Hermes said.

"Or flit," Nico sighed.

**"Sparky?"**

**Even offended, Jason looked hot.**

Nico groaned.

**It wasn't fair. Then he made his way to the stairs and disappeared into the dark.**

**Piper counted her breaths, trying to gauge how much time had passed. She lost track at around forty-three. Then something in the warehouse went _bang_!**

Poseidon winced, "I don't like that sound."

**The echo died. Piper's heart pounded, but she didn't call out. Her instincts told her it might not be a good idea.**

"Maybe not."

**She stared at her splinted ankle. _It's not like I can run. _Then she looked up again at the Monocle Motors sign. A little voice in her head pestered her, warning of danger. Something from Geek mythology...**

"A cyclops," Original Annabeth realized. "That is bad."

"Jason's probably eaten by now," Athena said.

**Her hand went to her backpack. She took out the ambrosia squares. Too much would burn her up, but would a little more fix her ankle?**

"That's taking too big of a chance," Demeter sighed.

"It's either that, or her friends die," Poseidon said.

_**Boom. **_** The sound was closer this time, directly below her. She dug out a whole square of ambrosia and stuffed it in her mouth.**

"She's dead."

**Her heart raced faster. Her skin felt feverish.**

**Hesitantly, she flexed her ankle against the splint. No pain, no stiffness at all.**

"Well at least that problem is fixed," said Artemis.

**She cut through the duct tape with her dagger and heard heavy steps on the stairs - like metal boots. **

**Had it been five minuets? Longer? The steps didn't sound like Jason, but maybe he was carrying Leo. Finally she couldn't stand it. Gripping her dagger, she called out, "Jason?"**

**"Yeah," he said from the darkness. "On my way up."**

"Cyclopes's can mimic voices," Other Annabeth warned.

**Definitely Jason's voice. So why did all her instincts say _Run?_**

**With effort, she got to her feet.**

**The steps came closer.**

**"It's okay," Jason's voice promised.**

"No it's not."**  
**

**At the top of the stairs, a face appeared out of the darkness - a hideous black grin, a smashed nose, and a single blood shot eye in the middle of his forehead.**

"This is just perfect," Rachel groaned.

**"It's fine," The Cyclopes said, in a perfect imitation of Jason's voice. "You're just in time for dinner."**

"They all are dead," Luke sighed.

"Who's reading next?" Hades asked.

"I will," Travis said.

"You read?" Rachel asked him, with raised eyebrows. Everyone else felt about the same way.

"Yes, I can read!" Travis said. "At least, last time I checked I could."

"When's the last time you checked?"

"The second grade."

"This is going to be funny."

**END OF PIPER 22**

* * *

**I was thinking guys, since I have no life right now, and all I seem to do I sit at my computer writing these. I was thinking of making update days. Like update every Monday, and Friday? That way I can get ahead on the chapters and prewrite them, then I can post them at a set time. That way people can keep caught up, and I can still update a lot. **

**Idk. I'll only do it if it works for you guys. But to tell the truth I'm perfectly fine just updating whenever I get done with a chapter.**

**SO comment and tell me what you think.**

**Luv you guys! **


	25. Leo 23

**It's a tie. Half of you would like me to do the Monday Friday updates. And the other half wanted me to just keep updating whenever I get done with the chapter. And I have to tell the truth I like the Mon. Fri. I think it would be nice to have a uniform update day. And that would mean that I will probably update like three chapters on the update day. So it will be like a reading day for you guys. **

**But my mind is still not made up. So still review and tell me how much you would hate it if I updated on update days, or how much you would like it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

**LEO 23**

**Leo wished the dragon hadn't landed on the toilets.**

"Gross," Aphrodite wrinkled her nose like she smelled something gross.

**Of all the places to crash, a line of Porta-Potties would not have been his first choice.**

"It's no ones first choice," Hades said.

**A dozen of the blue plastic boxes had been set up in the factory yard, and Festus had flattened them all. Fortunately, they hadn't been used in a long time, and the fireball from the crash incinerated most of the contents; but still, there were some pretty gross chemicals leaking out of the wreckage.**

"How much worse can it get for these guys?" Demeter wondered.

**Leo had to pick his way through and try not to breathe out of his nose. Heavy snow was coming down, but the dragon's hide was still steaming hot. Of course, that didn't bother Leo.**

**After a few minuets climbing over Festus's inanimate body, Leo started to get irritated. The dragon looked perfectly fine.**

"Why would that bother him?" Luke asked. "Isn't that good?"

**Yes, it had fallen out of the sky and landed with a big _ka-boom, _but its body wasn't even dented. The fireball had apparently come from built up gasses inside the toilet units, not from the dragon itself. Festus's wings were intact. Nothing seemed broken. There was no reason it should have stopped.**

**"Not my fault," he muttered. "Festus, you're making me look bad."**

**Then he opened the control panel on the dragon's head, and Leo's heart sank. "Oh, Festus, what the heck?"**

**The wiring had frozen over.**

"Khione really must've been pissed," Original Annabeth mumbled.

**Leo knew it had been okay yesterday. He'd worked so hard to repair the corroded lines, but something had caused a flash freeze inside the dragon's skull, where it should've been too hot for ice to form. The ice had caused the wiring to overload and char the control disk. Leo couldn't see any reason that would've happened. Sure, the dragon was old, but still, it didn't make sense.**

**He could replace the wires. That wasn't the problem. But the charred control disk was not good. **

"He wont be able to get that out where he is," Hephaestus muttered, "now that I think about it... that control disk might need to be custom made."

**The Greek letters and pictures carved around the edges, which probably held all kinds of magic, were blurred and blackened.**

**The one piece of hardware Leo couldn't replace - and it was damaged. _Again._**

"That's annoying," Nico grumbled.

**He imagined his mom's voice: _Most problems look worse than they are, mijo. Nothing is unfixable._**

"That's true," Hephaestus's eyes twinkled.

**His mom could repair just about anything, but Leo was pretty sure he'd neer worked on a fifty-year-old magic metal dragon.**

**He clenched his teeth and decided he had to try. He wasn't walking from Detroit to Chicago in a snowstorm, and he wasn't going to be responsible for stranding his friends.**

**"Right," he muttered, brushing the snow off his shoulders. **

"Stupid Khione."

**"Gimme a nylon bristle brush, some nitrile gloves, and maybe a can of that aerosol cleaning solvent."**

**The tool belt obliged. Leo couldn't help smiling as he pulled out the supplies.**

"I want one," Beckendorf whined again.

**the belt's pockets did have limits. They wouldn't give him anything magic, like Jason's sword, or anything huge, like a chain saw. He'd tried asked for both. And if he asked for too many things at once, the belt needed a cooldown time before it could work again.**

"So it's a tool belt with an attitude?" Clarisse mumbled. "That's annoying."

**The more complicated the request, the longer the cooldown. But anything small and simple like you might find around a workshop - all Leo had to do was ask.**

**He began cleaning off the control disk. While he worked, snow collected on the cooling dragon. Leo had to stop from time to time to summon fire and melt it away, but mostly he went into autopilot mode, his hands working by themselves as his thoughts wandered.**

"How can he do two things at once like that?" Aphrodite wondered, "I can't even do my mascara and think."

"Or walk and chew gum..." Athena murmured.

**Leo couldn't believe how stupid he'd acted back at Boreas's palace. He should've figured a family of winter gods would hate him on sight. Son of the fire god flying a fire-breathing dragon into an ice penthouse - yeah, maybe not the best move. Still, he hated feeling like a reject. Jason and Piper got to visit the throne room. Leo got to wait in the lobby with Cal, the demigod of hockey and major head injuries.**

_**Fire is bad,**_** Cal had told him.**

**That pretty much summed it up.**

"Not if you can control it," Athena said. And in response Hephaestus held out his hand and fire raced across his palm.

"Not the same," Hermes muttered, "you're the _god _of fire."_  
_

Hephaestus shrugged.

**Leo knew he couldn't keep the truth from his friends much longer. Ever since Camp Half-Blood, one line of that Great Prophecy kept coming back to him: _To storm or fire the world must fall._**

**And Leo was the fire guy, the first one since 1666 when London had burned down. If he told his friends what he could really do - _Hey, guess what, guys? I might destroy the world! - _**

"I wouldn't be surprised if he really does that," Luke said.

**why would anyone welcome him back at camp?**

"We take in all kinds of dangerous people," Original Annabeth grumbled. "I mean we still have Percy, and all he seems to do is cause explosions and monsters."

**Leo would have to go on the run again. Even though he knew that drill, the idea depressed him.**

**Then there was Khione. Dang, that girl was fine. Leo knew he'd acted like a total fool, but he couldn't help himself. He'd had his clothes cleaned with the one-hour valet service - **

"Jason and Piper were in the throne room for over an hour?" Silena asked, "it didn't seem like that long."

"And what did Leo ware when his clothes were being washed?" Beckendorf also asked.

** which had been totally sweet, by the way. He'd combed his hair - never an easy job - and even discovered the tool bag could make breath mints, all in hopes that he could get close to her. Naturally, no such luck.**

**Getting frozen out - story of his life - by his relatives, foster homes, you name it. **

"That's sad," Rachel whispered.

**Even at Wilderness School, Leo had spent the last few weeks feeling like a third wheel as Jason and Piper, his only friends, became a couple. He was happy for them and all, but still it made him feel like they didn't need him anymore.**

"They need you," Original Annabeth muttered, "they aren't even really dating right now."

"No, but they're getting close fast," Silena said.

**When he'd found out that Jason's whole time at school had been an illusion - kind of memory burp - Leo had been secretly excited. It was a chance for a reset. Now Jason and Piper were heading toward being a couple again - that was obvious from the way they'd acted in the warehouse just now, like they wanted to talk in private without Leo around.**

"And get ambushed by Cyclopes," Luke said, "that's exactly what they wanted."

**What had he expected? he'd wind up the odd man out again. Khione had just given him the cold shoulder a little quicker than most.**

"And then she froze your dragon's brain."

**"Enough, Valdez," he scolded himself. "Nobody's going to play violins for you just because you're not important. Fix the stupid dragon."**

"I know how that feels," Perseus whispered to himself.

**He got to involved with his work, he wasn't sure how much time had passed before he heard the voice.**

_**You're wrong, Leo, **_**it said.**

"Is it that mysterious voice again?" Clarisse asked. "Because is someone is going to be in the story so much and not knowing who she is, is kinda annoying."

**He fumbled his brush and dropped it into the dragon's head. He stood, but he couldn't see who'd spoken. Then he looked at the ground. Snow and chemical sludge from the toilets, even the asphalt itself was shifting like it was turning to liquid. A ten-foot-wide are formed eyes, a nose, and a mouth - the giant face of a sleeping woman.**

The Olympians paled.

"Creepy," Travis whimpered. Conner gripped his arm he looked just as scared as Travis.

**She didn't exactly speak. Her lips didn't move. But Leo could hear her voice in his head, as if the vibrations were coming through the ground, straight into his feet and resonating up his skeleton.**

_**They need you desperately, **_**she said. _In some ways, you are the most important of the seven - like the control disk in the dragon's brain. Without you, the power of the other means nothing. They will never reach me, never stop me. And I will fully wake._**

"Who are the seven?" Rachel asked.

"It's might explain in the books," Athena said.

"Hopefully it will soon," Hades said. "I hate it when people foreshadow."

"It's isn't _really _foreshadowing," Original Annabeth said, "it's just mentioning something that will become. So maybe it's foreshadowing, but it's a faint hint. Like something that will make a point in your mind, but you won't think that it's foreshadowing an event, when it really is. So it's like a trick foreshadow."

"My brain hurts," Conner groaned.

**"You." Leo was shaking so badly he wasn't sure he'd spoken aloud. He hadn't heard that voice since he was eight, but it was her: the earthen woman from the machine shop. "You killed my mom."**

"Attack her!" Ares yelled, "get revenge!"

**The face shifted. The mouth formed a sleepy smile like it was having a pleasant dream. _Ah, but Leo. I am your mother too -_**

"She's even crazier than I remember," Poseidon grumbled.

_**the First Mother. Do not oppose me. Walk away now. Let my son Porphyrion rise and become king, and I will ease your burdens.**_

"That's code for: I will kill you." Clarisse grumbled.

_**You will tread lightly on the earth.**_

"So he'll be dead."

**Leo grabbed the nearest thing he could find - a Porta-Potty seat - and threw it at the face. "Leave me alone!"**

"I don't think that's going to do anything," Clarisse said.

**The toilet seat sand into the liquid earth. Snow and sludge rippled, and the face dissolved.**

**Leo stared at the ground, waiting for the face to reappear. But didn't.**

"Guess it did do something," Clarisse grumbled.

**Leo wanted to think he'd imagined it.**

**Then from the direction of the factory, he heard a crash - like two dump trucks slamming together. Metal crumpled and groaned, and the noice echoed across the yard. Instantly Leo knew that Jason and Piper were in trouble.**

"Cyclopes."

_**Walk away now, **_**the voice urged.**

**"Not likely," Leo growled. "Gimme the biggest hammer you got."**

**He reached into his tool belt and pulled out a three-pound club hammer with a double-faced head the size of a baked potato. Then he jumped off the dragon's back and ran toward the warehouse.**

"It's over," Travis said, "thank gods I got a short chapter!"

"I'll read next," Clarisse said.

"What's going on?" Will questioned. "First Travis, then Clarisse! You guys never want to read."

"Well it sounds like the next chapter is a fighting scene," Clarisse defended, "and we all know I like that."

"Fine."

**END OF LEO 23**

* * *

**Don't forget to review and tell me what you think!**

**3!**


	26. Leo 24

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

**LEO 24**

**Leo stopped at the doors and tried to control his breathing. The voice of the earth woman still rang in his ears, reminding him of his mother's death.**

Aphrodite sighed, "he's depressing me."

**The last thing he wanted to do was plunge into another dark warehouse. Suddenly he felt eight years old again, alone and helpless as someone he cared about was trapped and in trouble.**

**Stop it, he told himself. That's how she wants you to feel. **

**But that didn't make him any less sacred. He took a deep breath and peered inside. Nothing looked different. Gray morning light filtered through the hole in the roof. A few lightbulbs flickered, but most of the factory floor was still lost in shadows. He could make out the catwalk above, the dim shapes of heavy machinery along the assembly line, but no movement. No sign of his friends.**

"They might be already eaten," Percy offered.

"Stop being so negative," Rachel snapped, "you're making this worse."

"Whatever," Percy huffed.

**He almost called out, but something stopped him - a sense he couldn't identify. Then he realized it was _smell. _Something smelled wrong - like burning motor oil and sour breath.**

"Sounds like Grover, with his sense of smell," Other Annabeth pointed out.

**Something not human was inside the factory. Leo was certain. His body shifted into high gear, all his nerves tingling.**

**Somewhere in the factory floor, Piper's voice cried out: "Leo, help!"**

"The Cyclopes are probably tricking him."

**But Leo held his tongue. How could Piper have gotten off the catwalk with her broken ankle?**

**He slipped inside and ducked behind a cargo container. Slowly, gripping his hammer, he worked his way toward the center of the room, hiding behind boxes and hollow truck chassis. Finally he reached the assembly line. He crouched behind the nearest piece of machinery - a crane with a robotic arm.**

**Piper's voice called out again: "Leo?" Less certain this time, but very close.**

"Is it the Cyclopes?" Percy questioned, "or is it that really Piper?"

**Leo peeked around the machinery. Hanging directly above the assembly line, suspended by a chain from a crane on the opposite side, was a massive truck engine -**

"Why hasn't the monsters ate her yet?" Will asked. "I mean why wait to eat something? Just eat it; unless your expecting company."

**just dangling thirty feet up, as if it had been left there when the factory was abandoned. Below it on the conveyor belt sat a truck chassis and clustered around it were three dark shapes the size of forklifts. Nearby, dangling from chains on two other robotic arms, were two smaller shapes - maybe more engines, but one of them was twisting around if it were alive.**

"Probably is," Hades muttered.

**Then one of the forklift shapes rose, and Leo realized it was humanoid of massive size. "Told you it was nothing," the thing rumbled. Its voice was too deep and feral to be human.**

**One of the other human shape rose, and Leo realized it was a humanoid of massive size. "Told you it was nothing," the thing rumbled. Its voice too deep and feral to be human.**

**One of the other forklift-sized lumped shifted, and called out in Piper's voice: "Leo, help me! Help -" Then the voice changed, becoming a masculine snarl. "Bah, there's nobody out there. No demigod could be that quit, eh?"**

Ares laughed, "idiot."

"Reminds me of you," Athena mumbled.

**The first monster chuckled. "Probably ran away, if he knows what's good for him. Or the girl was lying about a third demigod. Let's get cooking."**

_**Snap. **_**A bright orange light sizzled to life - an emergency flare - and Leo was temporarily blinded. He ducked behind the crane until the spots cleared from his eyes. Then he took another peep and saw a nightmare scene even Tia Callida couldn't have dreamed up.**

"I'm scared," Silena squeezed Beckendorf's hand.

"They'll be fine," he reassured her.

**The two smaller things dangling from crane arms weren't engines. They were Jason and Piper. Both hung upside down, tied by their ankles and cocoon with chains up to their necks. **

"That's doesn't seem very comfortable," Aphrodite said.

**Piper was flailing around, trying to free herself. Her mouth was gagged, but at least she was alive. Jason didn't look so good. He hung limply, his eyes rolled up in his head. A red welt the size of an apple had swollen over his left eyebrow.**

"I guess that's what that noise was in the last chapter," Hermes said.

**On the conveyor, belt, the belt of the unfinished pickup truck was being used as a fire pit. The emergency flare had ignited a mixture of tires and wood, which, from the smell of it, had been doused in kerosene. A big metal pole was suspended over the flames - a spit, Leo realized, which meant this was a cooking fire.**

"Well no duh," Luke smirked.

**But most terrifying of all were the cooks.**

_**Monocle Motors:**_** that single red eye logo. Why hadn't Leo realized?**

"Probably because he's a new demigod, and wasn't even tried properly before he left camp," Original Annabeth stated.

**Three massive humanoids gathered around the fire. Two were standing, stoking the flames. The largest one crouched with his back to Leo. the two facing him were each ten feet tall, with hairy muscular bodies and skin that glowed red in the firelight. One of the monsters wore a chain mail loincloth that looked really uncomfortable.**

Aphrodite gagged, "That's _so _out of style!"

**The other wore a ragged fuzzy toga made of fiberglass insulation, which also would not have made Leo's top ten wardrobe ideas.**

"It must be itchy," Beckendorf commented.

**Other than that, the two monster could've been twins. Each had a brutish face with a single eye in the center of his forehead. The cooks were Cyclopes.**

"Yeah."

**Leo's legs stared quaking. He'd seen some weird things so far - storm spirits and winged gods and a metal dragon that like Tabasco sauce. **

"That is really weird," Rachel said.

**But this was different. These were actual, flesh-and-blood, ten-foot-tall living monsters who wanted to eat his friends for dinner.**

"And Boreas wasn't about ready to turn them into statues?" Percy said, "this isn't their first time almost dying."

**He was so terrified he could hardly think. If only he had Festus. He could use a fire-breathing sixty-foot-long tank about now. But all he had was a tool belt and a backpack. His three-pound club hammer looked awfully small compared to those Cyclopes.**

"I would recommend a battle axe," Hephaestus grumbled.

_**This **_**is what the sleeping earth lady had been talking about. She wanted Leo to walk away and leave his friends to die.**

**That decided it. No way was Leo going to let that earth lady make him feel powerless - never again. Leo slipped off his backpack and quietly started to unzip it.**

**The Cyclops in the chain mail loincloth walked over to Piper, who squirmed and tried to head-butt him in the eye.**

"That would just make him more mad," Poseidon said.

**"Can I take her gag off now? I like it when they scream."**

"That's disturbing," Silena muttered, "but he should do it, so she can charmspeak you to let her go."

**The question was directed at the third Cyclops, apparently the leader. The crouching figure grunted, and Loincloth ripped the gag off Piper's mouth.**

"Awesome," Will said.

**She didn't scream. She took a shaky breath like she was trying to keep herself calm.**

**Meanwhile, Leo found he wanted in the pack: a stack of tiny remote control units he'd picked up in Bunker 9. At least he _hoped _that's what they were. The robotic crane's maintenance panel was easy to find. He slipped a screwdriver from his tool belt and went to work, but he had to go slowly. The leader Cyclops was only twenty feet in front of him. the monster obviously had excellent senses. Pulling off his plan without making noise seemed impossible, but he didn't have much choice.**

"What's he going to do?" Beckendorf wondered aloud.

**The Cyclops in the toga poked at the fire, which was now blazing away and billowing noxious black smoke toward the ceiling. His buddy Loincloth glowered at Piper, waiting for her to do something entertaining. "Scream, girl! I like funny screaming!"**

Aphrodite huffed.

**When Piper finally spoke, her tone was calm and reasonable, like she was corrected a naughty puppy. "Oh, , you don't want to kill us. It would be much better if you let us go."**

**Loincloth scratched his ugly head. He turned to his friend in the fiberglass toga. "She's king of pretty, Torque. Maybe I should let her go."**

"That would be too easy," Original Annabeth thought. "Something's going to go wrong."

**Torque, the dude in the toga, growled. "I saw her first, Sump. _I'll _let her go!"**

**Sump and Torque started to argue, but the third Cyclops rose and shouted, "Fools!"**

**Leo almost dropped his screwdriver. The third Cyclops was a _female. _**

"Is that surprising?" Demeter asked. "Don't tell me this boy is sexist."

"He's not," Hephaestus said, defending his son. "You just never heard about female Cyclops, only male. So when you see one, it is surprising."

**She was several feet taller than Torque or Sump, and even beefier. She wore a tent of chain mail cut like one of those sake dresses Leo's mean Aunt Rosa used to wear. What'd they call that - a muumuu? Yeah, the Cyclops lady had a chain mail muumuu.**

"This just get's weirder and weirder," Hermes sighed.

"That is _horrible_!" Aphrodite sceetched, "muumuus have been out of season since 1920!"

**Her greasy black hair was matted in pigtails, woven with copper wires and metal washers. Her nose and mouth were thick and smashed together, like she spent her free time ramming her face into walls; but her single red eye glittered with evil intelligence. **

"Someone just kill her already."

**The woman Cyclops stalked over to Sump and pushed him aside, knocking him over the conveyor belt. Torque backed up quickly.**

**"The girl is a Venus spawn," the lady Cyclops snarled.**

"More Latin?" Athena groaned.

**"She's using charmspeak on you."**

**Piper started to say, "Please, ma'am -"**

**"Rarr!" The lady Cyclops grabbed Piper around the waist. "Don't try your pretty talk on me, girl! I'm Ma Gasket! I've eaten heroes tougher than you for lunch!"**

**Leo feared Piper would get crushed, but Ma Gasket just dropped her and let her dangle from her chain. Then she started yelling at Sump about how stupid he was.**

"She sounds nice," Hera mumbled.

"Was that sarcasm?" Poseidon asked.

"Yes."

"Well it was horrible." Poseidon smirked, "you should take some lessons from Apollo."

"Twenty-five bucks an hour!" Apollo screamed over to Hera, who just groaned and ignored him.

**Leo's hands worked furiously. He twisted wires and turned switches, hardly thinking about what he was doing. He finished attaching the remote. Then he crept over to the next robotic arm while the Cyclops were talking.**

"He's going to control the arms with his remotes," Beckendorf noticed.

**" - eat her last, Ma?" Sump was saying.**

**"Idiot!" Ma Gasket yelled, and Leo realized Sump and Torque must be her sons. If so, ugly definitely ran in the family. "I should've thrown you out on the streets when you were babies, like _proper _Cyclops children."**

"Well that's cruel," Silena whispered. "No wonder Cyclopes are so mean. They never had a family."

"Well these ones have a family," Perseus muttered, "and they're still evil."

**"You might have learned some useful skills. Curse my soft heart that I kept you!"**

"She really has a soft heart," Rachel laughed.

**"Soft hear?" Torque muttered.**

**"What was that, you ingrate?"**

**"Nothing, Ma. I said you got a soft heart. We get to work for you, feed you, file your toenails -"**

"I think I'm going to be sick," Aphrodite gagged.

**"And you should be grateful!" Ma Gasket bellowed. "Now, stroke the fire, Torque! And Sump, you idiot, my case of salsa is in the other warehouse. Don't tell me you expect me to eat these demigods without salsa!"**

"At least she has a good taste in food," Apollo chuckled.

**"Yes, Ma," Sump said. "I mean no, Ma. I mean -"**

**"Go get it!" Ma Gasket picked up a nearby truck chassis and slammed it over Sump's head.**

Some of the demigods gasped.

"She's so mean," Silena whimpered.

"She's so annoying," Percy grumbled. "Let's finish this chapter."

**Sump crumpled to his knees. Leo was sure a hit like that would kill him, but Sump apparently got hit by trucks a lot. He managed to push the chassis off his head. Then he staggered to his feet and ran off to fetch the salsa.**

"Poor guy," Aphrodite sighed.

"You do know he's trying to eat your daughter," Artemis said.

"Never mind, I hate him again." Aphrodite scowled.

**Now's the time, Leo thought. While they're separated.**

**He finished wiring the second machine and moved toward a third. As he dashed between the robotic arms, the Cyclopes didn't see him, but Piper did. her expression turned from terror to disbelief, and she gasped.**

"Well that's perfect," Luke said, "she'll blow his cover."

**Ma Gasket turned to her. "What's the matter, girl? So fragile I broke you?"**

**Thankfully, Piper was a quick thinker. She looked away from Leo and said, "I think it's my ribs, ma'am. If I'm busted up inside, I'll taste terrible."**

**Ma Gasket bellowed with laughter. "Good one. The last her we ate - remember him, Torque? Son of Mercury, wasn't he?"**

Hermes scowled.

**"Yes, Ma," Torque said. "Tasty. Little bit stringy."**

Hermes looked pale, and his form flickered.

**"He tried a trick like that. Said he was on medication. But he tasted fine!"**

**"Tasted like mutton," Torque recalled. "Purple shirt. Talking in Latin. Yes, a bit stringy, but good."**

Hermes looked like he was going to puke. Demeter rubbed his back.

**Leo's fingers froze on the maintenance panel. Apparently, Piper was having the same thought as he was, because she asked, "Purple shirt? Latin?"**

"Are they going to figure out about Roman's yet?" Ares groaned.

**"Good eating," Ma Gasket said fondly. "Point is, girl, we're not as dumb as people think! We're not falling for those stupid tricks and riddles, not is northern Cyclopes."**

"I doubt it," Percy muttered.

**Leo forced himself back to work, but his mind was racing. A kid who spoke Latin had been caught here - in a purple shirt like Jason's? He didn't know what that meant,**

"Seriously?"

**but he had to leave the interrogation to Piper. If he was going to have any chance of defeating these monsters, he had to move fast before Sump came back with the salsa.**

**He looked up at the engine clock suspended right above the Cyclops' campsite. He wished he could use that - it would make a great weapon. But the crane holding it was on the opposite side of the conveyor belt. There was no way Leo could get over there without being seen, and besides, he was running short of time.**

**The last part of his plan was the trickiest.**

"We still don't know exactly what the plan is," Travis said.

"Something to do with robotic arms," Conner added, "but that's pretty much it."

**From his tool belt he summoned some wires, a radio adapter, and a smaller screwdriver and started to build a universal remote. For the first time, he said a silent thank-you to his dad - **

Hephaestus smiled.

**for the magic tool belt. _Get me out of here, _he prayed, _and maybe you're not such a jerk._**

**Piper kept talking, laying on the praise. "Oh, I've heard about the northern Cyclopes!" Which Leo figured was bull, but she sounded convincing. "I never knew you were so big and clever!"**

**"Flattery won't work either," Ma Gasket said, though she sounded pleased.**

"Everyone likes getting complimented," Aphrodite sighed.

**"It's true, you'll be breakfast for the best Cyclopes around."**

**"But aren't Cyclopes good?" Piper asked. "I thought you made weapons for the gods."**

"Like Poseidon's crew?" Hades said. "Nah, most of us just do the stuff ourselves."

"Are you calling me lazy?" Poseidon asked his brother. "Because weaponry is not my field of power," he pointed to Hephaestus, "it's his. So just because I have a forge doesn't mean that I'm in charge of it."

"Excuses, excuses."

**"Bah! I'm very good. Good at eating people. Good at smashing. And good at building things, yes, but not for the gods. Our cousins, the elder Cyclopes, they do this, yes. Thinking their so high and mighty 'cause they're a few thousand years older."**

"That's _way _older," Travis muttered.

"For you," Artemis said, "but for us, it's just a short time."

**"Then there's our southern cousins, living on islands and tending their sheep. Morons! But we Hyperborean Cyclopes, the northern clan, we're the best! Founded Monocle Motors in this old factory - the best weapons, armor, chariots, fuel-efficient SUV's! And yet - bah! Forced to shut down. Laid off most of our tribe. The war was too quick. Titans lost. No good! No more need for Cyclops weapons."**

"They worked for the Titans," Original Annabeth grumbled, "should've guessed."

**"Oh, no," Piper sympathized. "I'm sure you made some amazing weapons."**

**Torque grinned. "Squeaky war hammer!" He picked up a large pole with an accordion-looking metal box on the end.**

"That's going to work," Percy grumbled sarcastically.

**He slammed it against the floor and the cement creaked.**

"Never mind."

**But there was also a sound like the world's largest rubber ducky getting stomped.**

**"Terrifying," Piper said.**

**Torque looked pleased. "Not as good as the exploding ax, but this one can be used more than once."**

"I would actually use that," Beckendorf smiled.

**"Can I see it?" Piper asked. "If you could just free my hands -"**

**Torque stepped forward eagerly, but Ma Gasket said, "Stupid! She's tricking you again. Enough talk! Slay the boy first before he dies on his own. I like my meat fresh."**

_**No!**_** Leo's fingers flew, connecting the wires for the remote. _Just a few more minutes!_**

"He won't make it," Artemis muttered.

**"Hey wait," Piper said, trying to get the Cyclopes' attention. "Hey, can I just ask -"**

**The wires sparked in Leo's hand. The Cyclopes froze and turned in his direction.**

"He's screwed," Beckendorf muttered.

"This is going to be fun," Ares smiled.

**Then Torque picked up a truck, and threw it at him.**

"Yup, defiantly dead," Percy agreed with Beckendorf.

**Leo rolled as the truck enrolled over the machinery. If he'd been a half-second slower, he would've been smashed.**

**He got to his feet, and Ma Gasket spotted him.**

Hephaestus winced.

**She yelled, "Torque, you pathetic excuse for a Cyclops, get him!"**

**Torque barreled toward him. Leo frantically gunned the toggle on his makeshift remote.**

**Torque was fifty feet away. Twenty feet.**

Ares rubbed his fingers together, waiting for the exciting kill.

Hephaestus glared at him, and will fire to start on his head.

Ares panicked and tried to swat the flames off his head. Which just gave the fire more air, and more fuel. It got bigger, and started to spread down his screamed and got on the floor, rolling around trying to smother the flames.

All the gods were laughing like it was completely normal for this to happen, and that it wasn't bad at all. Just a harmless prank.

The demigods, though, were pale. Some where screaming too, yelling at the other Olympians to help him. Some just sitting there shocked an not really sure what to do. And Percy was laughing along with the gods.

Eventually Poseidon pitted Ares and dumped water over his burning body.

Of course, Ares looked fine, but the fire really did hurt him.

"I hate all of you!" he growled, then got back into his throne to pout.

Hephaestus chuckled, "well, stop willing our children to die."

Ares answered with a grunt.

**Then the first robotic arm whirred to life. A three-ton yellow metal claw slammed the Cyclops in the back so hard, he landed flat on his face. **

"Maybe he won't die," Original Annabeth grumbled, still trying to get past the shock.

**Before Torque could recover, the robotic hand grabbed him by one leg and hurled him straight up.**

"This kid actually has some skills," Apollo commented.

**"AHHHHHH!" Torque rocketed into the gloom. The ceiling was too dark and too high up to see exactly what happened, but judging from the harsh metal _clang, _Leo guessed the Cyclops had hit one of the support girders.**

"Ouch."

**Torque never came down. Instead, yellow dust rained to the floor. Torque had disintegrated.**

"Mama's going to be mad," Luke said.

**Ma Gasket stared at Leo in shock. "My son... You... You..."**

**As if on cue, Sump lumbered into the firelight with a case of salsa. "Ma, I got the extra-spicy -"**

"Extra-spicy," Travis muttered happily. "That's sounds good."

**He never finished his sentence. Leo spun the remote's toggle, and the second robotic arm whacked Sump in the chest. The salsa case exploded like a pinata and Sump flew backward, right into the base of Leo's third machine. Sump may have been immune to getting hit with truck chasses, but he wasn't immune to robotic arms that could deliver ten thousand pounds of force. The third crane arm slammed him against the floor so hard, he exploded into dust like a broken flour sack.**

"I remember my first monster," Hephaestus sighed.

**Two Cyclopes down. Leo was begging to feel like Commander Tool Belt when Ma Gasket locker her eye on him.**

"Commander Tool Belt?"

**She grabbed the nearest crane arm and ripped it off its pedestal with a savage roar. "You busted my boys! Only _I _get to bust my boys!"**

"Sounds like Hera," Poseidon smirked.

**Leo punched a button, and the two remaining arms swung into action. Ma Gasket caught the first one and tore it in half.**

"A waste of perfectly good machinery," Hephaestus sighed.

**The second arm smacked her in the head, but that only seemed to make her mad. She grabbed it by the clamps, ripped it free, and swung it like a baseball bat. It missed Piper and Jason by an inch. Then Ma Gasket let it go - spinning it toward Leo. He yelped and rolled to one side as if demolished the machine next to him.**

"Okay this might get bad," Will muttered.

**Leo stared to realize that an angry Cyclops mother was not something you wanted to fight with a universal remote and a screwdriver.**

"They're screwed again," Other Annabeth said.

**The future for Commander Tool Belt was not looking so hot.**

**She stood about twenty feet from him now, next to the cooking fire. Her fists were clenched, her teeth bared. She looked ridiculous in her chain mail muumuu and her greasy pigtails - but given the murderous glare in her huge red eye and the fact that se was twelve feet tall, Leo wasn't laughing.**

Ares laughed, "no, but I am."

**"Any more tricks, demigod?" Ma Gasket demanded.**

**Leo glanced up. The engine block suspended on the chain - if only he'd had time to rig it. If only he could get Ma Gasket to take one step forward. The chain itself... that one link... Leo shouldn't have been able to see it, especially from so far down, but his senses told him there was metal fatigue.**

**"Heck, yeah, I got tricks!" Leo raised his remote control. "Take one more step, and I'll destroy you with fire!"**

"This might just work."

**Ma Gasket laughed. "Would you? Cyclopes are immune to fire, you idiot. But if you wish to play with flames,"**

"I don't," Ares grumbled.

**"let me help!"**

**She scooped red-hot coals into her bare hands and flung them at Leo. They landed all around his feet.**

**"You missed," he said incredulously. Then Ma Gasket grinned at picked up a barrel next to the truck. Leo just had time to read the stenciled word on the side - _KEROSENE - _before Ma Gasket threw it.**

"He's immune to fire, too." Beckendorf said, "nothing will happen."

**The barrel split on the floor in front of him, spilling lighter fluid everywhere.**

**Coals sparked. Leo closed his eyes, and Piper screamed, "No!"**

**A firestorm erupted around him.**

"That would be cool to see," said Hades.

**When Leo opened his eyes he was bathed in flames swirling twenty feet into the air. **

**Ma Gasket shrieked with delight, but Leo didn't offer the fire any good fuel. the kerosene burned off, dying down to small fiery patched on the floor.**

**Piper gasped, "Leo?"**

**Ma Gasket looked astonished. "You live?"**

"Heard that one before," Luke and Perseus said at unison.

**Then she took that extra step froward, which put her right where Leo wanted. "What are you?"**

"Sounds familiar," Other and Original Annabeth said at the same time.

**"The son of Hephaestus," Leo said. "And I warned you I'd destroy you with fire."**

**He pointed one finger in the air and summoned all his will. He'd never tried to do anything so focused at intense - but he shot a bolt of white hot flames at the chain suspending the engine block above the Cyclops's head - aiming for the link that looked weaker than the rest.**

**The flames died. Nothing happened. Ma Gasket laughed.**

"Oh, that's embarrassing," Hermes winced.

**"An impressive try, son of Hephaestus. It's been many centuries since I saw a fire user. You'll make a spicy appetizer!"**

**The chain snapped - that single link heated beyond its tolerance point - and the engine block fell, deadly and silent.**

**"I don't think so," Leo said.**

"That's badass," Rachel grinned.

**Ma Gasket didn't even have time to look up.**

_**Smash! **_**No more Cyclops - just a pile of dust under a fiveton engine block.**

**"Not immune to fire, huh?" Leo said. "Boo-yah!"**

**Then he fell to his knees, his head buzzing. After a few minutes he realized Piper was calling his name.**

"He'd used all his energy." Poseidon noticed.

**"Leo! Are you all right? Can you move?"**

**He stumbled to his feet. He'd never tried to summon such an intense fire before, and it had left him completely drained.**

"I hate it when that happened," Percy grumbled.

**It took him a long time to get Piper down from her chains. Then together they lowered Jason, who was still unconscious. Piper managed to trickle a little nectar into his mouth, and he groaned. The welt on his head started to shrink. His color came back a little.**

**"Yeah, he's got a nice thick skull," Leo said. "I think he's gonna be fine."**

**"Thank god," Piper sighed. Then she turned to Leo with something like fear.**

"This was exactly what Leo didn't want to happen," Original Annabeth said, her voice was soft and caring.

**"How did you - the fire - have you always...?"**

**Leo looked down. "Always," he said. "I'm a freaking menace. Sorry, I should've told you guys sooner but - "**

**"Sorry?" Piper punched his arm. When he looked up, she was grinning. "That was amazing Valdez! You saved our lives. What are you sorry about?"**

"Luke would always be like that," Other Annabeth sighed.

**Leo blinked. He started to smile, but his sense of relief was ruined when he noticed something next to Piper's foot.**

**Yellow dust - the powered remains of the Cyclopes, maybe Torque - was shifting across the floor like an invisible wind was pushed it back together.**

"That's not good," Will paled.

**"They're forming again," Leo said. "Look."**

"It shouldn't happen that fast," Original Annabeth muttered. "They have to go back to Tartarus!"

"Something's wrong," Athena muttered. "The Doors of Death should -"

"Quite, Athena," Zeus said softly, his eyes had turned darker. "We can't know for sure."

**Piper stepped away from the dust. "That's not possible. Annabeth told me monsters dissipate when they're kill. They go back to Tartarus and can't return for a long time."**

"That's what's _supposed _to happen," Original Annabeth grumbled. But she didn't look like she was paying too much attention to the book, anymore. Her eyes became distant, just like Athena's, and they both sat and tried to figure out what was going on.

**"Well, nobody told the dust that." Leo watched as it collected into a pile, then very slowly spread out, forming a shape with arms and legs.**

"They need to get out of there," Silena said.

**"Oh, god." Piper turned pale. "Boreas said something about this - the earth yielding up horrors. 'When monster no longer stay in Tartarus, and souls are no longer confined to Hades.' How long do you think we have?"**

"Hades!" Zeus shouted, "are you keeping your dead in the Underworld?"

"Yes!" Hades groaned, "you think I just let people walk out?"

"Keep it that way."

**Leo thought about the face that had formed in the ground outside - the sleeping woman who was _definitely _a horror from the earth.**

"You have no idea," Poseidon grumbled.

**"I don't know," he said. "But we need to get out of here."**

"That's it," Clarisse said. "I'm never reading again."

"Same here," Ares shuddered.

"Whatever," Hermes said, "I'll read next."

**END OF LEO 24**

**Sorry I didn't update on friday like I said. But I had two band events this week. I had that Festival on Wednesday, which we got superior, and on Friday I had Monster band. Which went on all day until like seven, so I didn't get home until eight, and I was so tired that I fell asleep on the couch... So this is my make up chapter.**


	27. Jason 25

**For those who don't know what Monster Band is: it's an event, when multiple schools of a district come together and make a _huge _band. So like eight schools are forced together to make one band. Then we all play the same songs, and we practice them all day long. Until the concert that night. So it was like a six in the morning to eight at night thing. So being from a super small school - with only have about twenty people in the entire band - it was crazy to place with two-hundred people instead of nineteen. **

**And I play a trumpet. I named him Bob. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

**JASON 25**

**Jason dreamed he was wrapped in chains,**

"Isn't he really wrapped in chains?" Apollo asked.

**hanging upside down like a hunk of meat. **

"So he isn't dreaming?" Travis asked.

**Everything hurt - his arms, his legs, his chest, his head.**

"So he's dreaming about what he really is feeling in real life?" Rachel thought.

**Especially his head.**

"He must just be feeling what his physical condition in real life," Athena answered.

**It felt like an overinflated water balloon.**

**"If I'm dead," he murmured, "why does it hurt so much?"**

"He's not dead," Hades said, "I'd know if he was dead."

**"You're not dead, my hero," said a woman's voice. "It is not your time. Come, speak with me."**

"Is this Hera? Or the earth lady?" Other Annabeth asked no one in perticular.

**Jason's thoughts floated away from his body. He heard monsters yelling, his friends screaming, fiery explosions, but it all seemed to be happening on another pane of existence - getting farther and farther away.**

**he found himself standing in an earthen cage. **

"It's Hera," Poseidon said smirking.

**Tendrils of tree roots and stone whirled together, confining him. outside the bars, he could see the floor of dry reflecting pool, another earthen spire growing at the far end, and above then, the ruined red stones of a burned-out house.**

"Back where the wolves are," Luke noted.

**Next to him in the cage, a woman sat cross-legged in black robes, her head covered by a shroud. She pushed aside her veil, revealing a face that was proud and beautiful -**

"Aw, he called you beautiful," Aphrodite cooed.

Against her will, Hera blushed slightly.

**but also hardened with suffering.**

"Now he pities you," Artemis grumbled.

**"Hera," Jason said.**

**"Welcome to my prison," said the goddess. "You will not die today, Jason. Your friends will see you through - for now."**

**"For now?" he asked.**

"Yeah, that sounds promising," Percy grumbled.

**Hera gestured at the tendrils of her cage. "There are worse trail to come. The very earth stirs against us."**

**"You're a goddess," Jason said. "Why can't you just escape?" **

"Can't tell you how many times I've heard that," Demeter scowled.

**Hera smiled sadly. Her form began to glow, until her brilliance filled the cage with painful light. The air hummed with power, molecules splitting apart like a nuclear explosion. Jason suspected if he were actually there in the flesh, he would've been vaporized.**

"Maybe a little bit."

**The cage should've been blasted to rubble. The ground should've split and the ruined house should've been leveled. But when the glow died, the cage hadn't budged. Nothing outside the bars had changed. Only Hera looked a little different - a little more stooped and tired.**

"Aww, poor Hera!" Hades cooed, mocking the queen of the gods. "You need a little nappy?"

"You little -" Hera growled, but was cut off by Hades.

"You shouldn't call me names in front of my son," Hades pointed at Nico who was playing with his phone. "It's a little rude."

"That Nico is thirty!" Hera said. "I think he'll be fine hearing someone call his daddy a bad name."

"But," Hades added, "other people have kids here, and I don't think they want them to hear bad words."

Hera groaned.

**"Some powers are even greater than the gods," she said. "I am not easily contained. I can be in many places at once. But when the greater part of my essence is caught, it is like a foot in a bear trap, you might say. I can't escape, and I am concealed from the eyes of the other gods. Only you can find me, and I grow weaker by the day."**

**"Then way did you come here?" Jason asked. "How were you caught?"**

"That's what we're wondering," Poseidon said.

**The goddess sighed. "I could not stay idle. Your father Jupiter believes he can withdraw from the world, and thus hull our enemies back to sleep. He believes we Olympians have become too involved in the affairs of mortals, in the fates of our demigods children, especially since we agreed to claim them all after the war."**

"Thanks to _your _son," Ares glared at Poseidon, who just smirked back.

**"He believes this is what has caused our enemies to stir. That is why he closed Olympus."**

"Seriously?" Original Annabeth said.

Zeus shrugged, "this happens two months in the future. But that does sound like something I would do."

"You think?" Apollo asked.

**"But you don't agree?"**

**"No," she said. "Often I do not understand my husband's moods or his decisions, but even for Zeus, this seemed paranoid. I cannot fathom why he was so insistent and so convinced. It was... unlike him. As Hera, I might have been content to follow my lord's wishes. Bit I am also Juno." **

"I don't always do what Zeus said." Hera defended, "I just respect this ideas and thoughts."

"You totally do what he says," Hades muttered.

**Her image flickered, and Jason saw armor under her simple black robes, a goatskin cloak - the symbol of a Roman warrior - across her bronze mantel. "Juno Moneta they called me - Juno, the One Who Warns."**

"That's lame," Percy grumbled. "Why not just called you The Annoying Talker then?"

**I was guardian of the state, patron of Eternal Rome. I could not sit by while the descendants of my people were attacked. I sensed danger at this sacred spot. A voice -" She hesitated. "A voice told me I should come here. Gods do not have what you might call a conscience, nor do we have dreams;"**

"Well that's a little depressing," Will said.

"You have no idea," Apollo said.

"Yes, but we don't have nightmares either," Artemis said.

**"But the voice was like that - soft and persistent, warning me to come here. And so the same day Zeus closed Olympus, I slipped away without telling him my plans,"**

"That was the whole point of sneaking out," Beckendorf said, "isn't it? You're not going to be like 'hey! Zeus! I'm just going to leave and try to find this random voice - which I have no idea who it is - out into the wild. See you later!'"

"I should kill you all," Hera said.

**"so he could not stop me. And I came here to investigate."**

**"It was a trap," Jason guessed.**

"Yeah."

**The goddess nodded. "Only too late did I realize how quickly the earth was stirring. I was even more foolish than Jupiter - a slave to my own impulses. This is exactly how it happened the first time. I was taken captive by the giants, and my imprisonment started a war. Now our enemies rise again. The gods can only defeat them with the help of the greatest living heroes. And the one whom the giants serve... She cannot be defeated at all - only kept asleep."**

"Perfect," Original Annabeth grumbled, "just got done with one war, and now we have to go through another."

"This is going to be fun," Other Annabeth agreed.

**"I don't understand."**

**"You will soon," Hera said.**

**The cage began to constrict, the tendrils spiraling tighter. Hera's form shivered like a candle flame in the breeze. Outside the cage, Jason could see shapes gathering at the edge of the pool - lumbering humanoids with hunched backs and bald heads. Unless Jason's eyes were tricking him - they had more than one set of arms.**

"Sounds like they're handsome," Conner smirked.

**He heard wolves too, but not the wolves he's seen with Lupa. He could tell from their howls this was a different pack - hungrier, more aggressive, out for blood.**

"How can you tell that much from a howl?" Silena wondered.

**"Hurry, Jason," Hera said. "My keepers approach, and you begin to wake. I will not be strong enough to appear to you again, even in dreams."**

**"Wait," he said. "Boreas told us you'd made a dangerous gamble. What did he mean?"**

**Hera's eyes looked wild, and Jason wondered if she really _had _does something crazy.**

"Oh, she did," Zeus said. "The might have doomed us."

"Thanks for the support, darling."

"No problem."

**"An exchange," she said. "The only way to bring peace. The enemy counts on our division, and if we are divided, we _will _be destroyed. You are my peace offering, Jason - a bridge to overcome millennia of hatred."**

"An exchange?" Luke said, "she took something from us, then he gave us Jason?"

Original and Other Annabeth's eyes darkened.

"Oh," Rachel said, "she took Luke... and Hero Perseus."

"And exchanged them," Original Annabeth said. "And since Jason is Roman, and Percy is Greek. She switched them - shoved Percy into the Roman world, and Jason into the Greek world."

"She did the same thing with Luke," Other Annabeth agreed. "We have to get him back."

"Well your not leaving," Hera said. "So your just going to have to get over it, and wait until The Fates decide to either pop them in here, your you out there."

"Perfect."

**"What? I don't - "**

**"I cannot tell you more," Hera said. "You have only lived this long is because I have taken your memory. Find this place. Return to your starting point. Your sister will help."**

**"Thalia?" **

**The scene began to dissolve. "Good-bye, Jason. Beware Chicago. Your most dangerous mortal enemy waits there. If you are to die, it will be by her hand."**

**"Who?" he demanded.**

**But Hera's image faded, and Jason awoke.**

"More confusion," Hermes sighed, "perfect. Just what I wanted."

**His eyes snapped open. "Cyclops!"**

"A little late there, bro."

**"Whoa, sleepyhead." Piper sat behind him on the bronze dragon, holding his waist to keep him balanced. Leo sat in front, driving. They flew peacefully through the winter sky as if nothing had happened.**

**"D-Detroit," Jason stammered. "Didn't we crash-land? I thought -"**

**"It's okay," Leo said. "We got away, but you got a nasty concussion. How you feeling?"**

"Oh just peachy," Nico said sarcastically.

**Jason's head throbbed. He remembered the factory, then walking down the catwalk, then a creature looming over him - a face with one eye, a massive fist - and everything went black.**

"That's sucks."

**"How did you - the Cyclops -"**

**"Leo ripped them apart," Piper said. "He was amazing. He can summon fire -"**

**"It was nothing," Leo said quickly.**

**Piper laughed. "Shut up, Valdez. I'm going to tell him. Get over it."**

**And she did - how Leo single-handedly defeated the Cyclopes family; how they freed Jason, then noticed the Cyclopes started to re-form; how Leo had replaced the dragon's wiring and gotten them back in the air as they'd started to hear thee Cyclopes roaring for vengeance inside the factory.**

**Jason was impressed. Taking out three Cyclopes with nothing but a tool kit? Not bad. It didn't exactly scare him to hear how close he'd come to death, but it did make him feel horrible. He'd stepped right into an ambush and spent the whole fight knocked out while his friends fended for themselves. What kind of quest leader was he?**

"He's pretty bad," Ares said.

**When Piper told him about the other kid the Cyclopes claimed to have eaten, the one in the purple shirt who spoke Latin, Jason felt like his head was going to explode. A son of Mercury... Jason felt like he should know that kid, but the name was missing from his mind.**

Hermes sighed.

**"I'm not alone, then," he said. "There are other like me."**

**"Jason," Piper said, "you were never alone. You've got us."**

"Well that's tacky," Luke said.

**"I-I know... but something Hera said. I was having a dream..."**

**He told them what he'd seen, and what the goddess had said inside her cage.**

**"An exchange?" Piper asked. "What does that mean?"**

**Jason shook his head. "But Hera's gamble is _me. _Just by sending me to Camp Half-Blood, I have a feeling she broke some kind of rule, something that could blow up in a big way -"**

"A huge way," Athena grumbled.

**"Or save us," Piper said hopefully. "That bit about the sleeping enemy - that sounds like the lady Leo told us about."**

"A sleeping lady..." Original Annabeth tried to figure out who it was, "who is it?"

**Leo cleared hit throat. "About that... she kind of appeared to me in Detroit, in a pool of Porta-Potty sludge."**

Silena wrinkled her nose, "it's still gross."

**Jason wasn't sure he'd heard that right. "Did you say... Porta-Potty?"**

**Leo told them about the big face in the factory yard. "I don't know it she's completely unkillable,"**

"Pretty much."

**he said, "but she cannot be defeated by toilet seats. I can vouch for that. She wanted me to betray you guys, and I was like, 'Pfft, right, I'm going to listen to a face in potty sludge.'"**

Apollo, Hermes, Ares, and the Stolls started laughing.

"That's a good one!" Ares snorted.

"I'm going to have to write that down!" Apollo started writing on a pad and paper that he pulled out of the air.

"I'm going to love meeting this dude," Conner said, wiping tears from his eyes.

**"She's trying to divide us. " Piper slipped her arms from around Jason's waist. He could sense her tension without even looking at her.**

**"What's wrong?" he asked.**

"He can feel her emotions!" Aphrodite smiled, "they're getting closer!"

**"I just... Why are they toying with us? Who is this lady, and how is she connected to Enceladus?"**

**"Enceladus?" Jason didn't think he'd heard that name before.**

"She screwed up," Clarisse muttered. "She's finally living up to the Aphrodite legacy."

"Shut up," Silena glared at her.

**"I mean..." Piper's voice quavered. "That's one of the giants. Just one of the names I could remember."**

**Jason got the feeling there was a lot more bothering her, but he decided he wasn't going to press her. She'd had a rough morning.**

"You've all had rough mornings," Hermes muttered. "Not just the girl."

**Leo scratched his head. "Well, I dunno about Enchiladas -"**

Athena rolled her eyes.

**"Enceladus," Piper corrected.**

**"Whatever. But Old Potty Face mentioned another name. Propose Fear, or something?"**

"Porphyrion," Zeus answered.

**"Porphyrion?" Piper asked. "He was the giant king, I think."**

Zeus snorted like the idea was funny to him.

**Jason envisioned that dark spire in the old reflecting pool - growing larger as Hera got weaker. "I'm going to take a wild guess," he said. "In the old stories, Porphyrion kidnapped Hera. That was the first shot in the war between the giants and the gods."**

"The boy actually got something right," Ares grumbled.

**"I think so," Piper agreed. "But those myths are really garbled and conflicted. It's almost like nobody wanted that story to survive."**

"Why would they?" Hades asked, "I mean it's just saying that the gods are stupid and can be tricked."

"Hey," Hera glared at him, "like you should talk."

"I was just answering her question."

**"I just remember there was a war, and the giants were almost impossible to kill."**

"Don't remind me," Ares said scowling.

**"Heroes and gods had to work together," Jason said. "That's what Hera told me."**

"This is going to be difficult," Zeus agreed with Ares.

**"Kind of hard to do," Leo grumbled, "if the gods won't even talk to us."**

Original Annabeth grunted, "yeah. It is."

Zeus glared.

**They flew west, and Jason became lost in his thoughts - all of them bad. He wasn't sure how much time passed before the dragon dove through a break in the clouds, and below them, glittering in the winter sun, was a city at the edge of a massive lake. A crescent of skyscrapers lined the shore. Behind them, stretching out to the western horizon, was a vast grid of snow-covered neighborhoods and roads.**

"They seriously get places fast on that thing," Will said.

**"Chicago," Jason said.**

**He thought about what Hera had said in his dream. His worst mortal enemy would be waiting here. If he was going to die, it would be by her hand.**

**"One problem down," Leo said. "We got here alive. Now, how do we find the storm spirits?"**

**Jason saw a flash of movement below them. At first he thought it was a small plane, but it was too small, too dark and fast. The thing spiraled toward the skyscrapers, weaving and changing shape - and, just for a moment it became the smoke figure of a horse.**

"I think the spirits found them," Beckendorf muttered.

"At least something went right for these people," Luke said.

**"How about we follow that one," Jason suggested, "and see where it goes?"**


	28. Jason 26

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

**JASON 26**

"So who wants to read next?" Hermes asked.

But before anyone could answer and flash of light blinded everyone.

"Why do these flashes have to be so bright?" Other Annabeth asked, "I mean seriously, you don't need to blind us every time."

When the light died everyone expected to see another person standing dazed and confused in the middle of the throne room.

Instead a letter slowly fell from the ceiling onto Athena's lap.

She took a breath a read:

_We know the Annabeths want to see their missing... friends._

_So we've decided to be nice, and give them a glimpse of_

_what Perseus Jackson and Luke Castellan are up to in real_

_time._

Other Annabeth blushed a little bit, but Original Annabeth held her head high. Ready for whatever was to come next.

Then a flash of blue and green light flashed. Leaving two passed out boys in the middle of the floor.

"Luke!" Other Annabeth run the the blonde boy. He wasn't moving, and his eyes were closed. He had no blood on his clothes, but she checked him anyway. Searching his arms, legs, and chest. After feeling satisfied that he was unharmed. Other Annabeth grabbed his hand. "Luke?" She shook his arm, trying to wake him up.

Original Annabeth stood beside the passed out Hero Percy Jackson. He looked just as fine as Hero Luke did. Not a scratch or bruise. But Original Annabeth didn't seem to care as much as Other Annabeth did. She just kneeled beside him and felt his forehead.

"He's doesn't have a fever," she stated.

"We didn't really care," Traitor Percy growled.

Original Annabeth glared at him, ready to punch him. But a groan from her boyfriend stopped her.

Percy was still asleep, and seemed to be having a nightmare. His eyes moved frantically under his eyelids, and his hands would twitch at times.

Hero Luke was still, and was even snoring slightly. Other Annabeth was still trying to wake him up. If Luke could hear her calls, he wasn't letting on.

Original Annabeth stoked Hero Percy's hair and tried to console him the best that she could.

Silena and Beckendorf came and stood over him.

"He looks different," Silena said.

"You've only been dead for a couple of months," Original Annabeth told her.

"I know, but seriously. He got hotter!" Silena smiled.

"I'm standing right here," Beckendorf said. Silena smiled at him, then got on her toes and kissed him.

"You know your the only guy I like," she told him. "And you know that. Anyways he's Annabeth's. I'm just saying what everyone is thinking."

Original Annabeth chuckled, but her voice was strained like she was on the verge of breaking down.

Nico chuckled, "he doesn't look like that in my time."

"Apollo!" Other Annabeth sighed, "your the god of medicine! You can help Luke, right?"

Apollo smirked like this was the moment that he's been waiting for. "Nope!" He smiled. "The Fates are jerks about stuff like this, they won't let anyone help those two. They're stuck, passed out."

"Perfect," Other Annabeth sighed, "just perfect."

"Annabeth," Rachel muttered. "He's at least here. He's not missing anymore."

Other Annabeth sighed, "you're right."

"So what are we going to do with them?" Will asked, "we're not just going to leave them here on the floor. Are we?"

Zeus shrugged, "put a blanket on them. They'll be fine."

Poseidon snorted, "just give them both a couch."

Zeus sighed and two more couches appeared and Hero Luke and Percy were set on their own couch.

"There," he said, "you happy now?"

Poseidon smirked, "of course, brother."

"So no one told me," Hermes said, "who wants to read?"

Rachel sighed, "I already did, but I guess I will."

Other and Original Annabeth sat beside their boyfriends. Who were both snoring.

**Jason was afraid they'd lose their target. The ventus moved like... well, like the wind.**

"I thought Zeus moved like the wind," Travis said.

Hades smirked, "more like he moves like a thunderstorm."

**"Speed up!" he urged.**

**"Bro," Leo said, "if I get any closer, he'll spot us. Bronze dragon ain't exactly a stealth plane."**

**"Slow down!" Piper yelped.**

"Oh, wow." Percy rolled his eyes, he shifted in his seat and glanced at Hero Percy uneasily.

**The storm spirit dove into the grid of downtown streets. Festus tried to follow, but his wingspan was way too wide. his left wing clipped the edge of a building, slicing off a stone gargoyle before Leo pulled up.**

"I hate gargoyles," Silena said, "they're just so... creepy."

"Like Hades?" Demeter asked her.

**"Get above the buildings," Jason suggested. "We'll track him from there."**

**After a few minutes, Jason spotted the storm spirit again, zipping through the streets with no apparent purpose - blowing over pedestrians, ruffling flags, making cares swerve.**

**"Oh great," Piper said. "There's two."**

**She was right. A second ventus blasted around the corner of the Fenaissance Hotel and liked up with the first.**

"I stayed in the Fenaissance, once," Hera muttered. "Nice place."

**They wove together in a chaotic dance, shooting to the top of a skyscraper, bending a radio tower, and diving back down toward the street.**

**"Those guys do _not _need nay more caffeine," Leo said.**

**"I guess Chicago's a good place to hand out," Piper said. "Nobody's going to question a couple more evil winds."**

**"More than a couple," Jason said. "Look."**

"There's more?" Aphrodite sighed, "Aeolus seriously has a lot of work to do."

**The dragon circled over a wide avenue next to a lakeside park. Storm spirits were converging - at least a dozen of them, whirling around a big public art installation.**

**"Which one do you think is Dylan?" Leo asked. "I wanna throw something at him."**

Hephaestus chucked, "that won't do much."

**But Jason focused on the art installation. the closer they got to it, the faster his heart beat. It was just a public fountain, but it was unpleasantly familiar. Two five-story monoliths rose form either end of a long granite reflecting pool. the monoliths seemed to be built of video screens, flashing the combined image of a giant face that spewed water into the pool.**

"Okay _that's _creepier than Hades," Demeter said.

**Maybe it was just a coincidence, but it looked like a hightech, super-sized version of that ruined reflecting pool he'd seen in his dreams, with those two dark masses jutting from either end. As Jason watched, the image on the screens changed to a woman's face with her eyes closed.**

**"Leo..." he said nervously.**

**"I see her," Leo said. "I don't like her, but I see her."**

"More of that lady?" Conner said, "she's seriously getting annoying."

**Then the screens went dark. The venti swirled together into a single funnel cloud and scattered across the fountains, kicking up a waterspout almost as high as the monoliths. They got to its center, popped off a drain cover, and disappeared underground.**

"Why would wind want to go underground?" Luke asked, "don't they like to be free?"

**"Did they just do down a drain?" Piper asked. "How are we supposed to follow them?"**

**"Maybe we shouldn't," Leo said. "That fountain thing is giving me seriously bad vibes. And aren't we supposed to, like, beware the earth?"**

**Jason felt the same way, but they had to follow. It was their only way forward. They had to find Hera, and they now had only two days until the solstice.**

"Pushing time," Nico shook his head, "why is that all you guys ever do? Push till the very last minuet."

**"Put us down in that park," he suggested. "We'll check it out on foot."**

"Well your not going to get the dragon down the drain," Clarisse stated.

**Festus landed in an open area between the lake and the skyline. The signs said Grant Park, and Jason imagined it would've been a nice place in the summer; but now it was a field of ice, snow, and salted walkways. The dragon's hot metal feel hissed as they touched down. Festus flapped his wings unhappily and shot fire into the sky, but there was no one around to notice. The wind coming off the lake was bitter cold. Anyone with sense would be inside. Jason's eyes stung so badly, he could barely see.**

Silena shivered, "I hate winter."

"Summer's always better," Other Annabeth agreed. She seemed to be more talkative now that she had Luke in her lap, still passed out.

**They dismounted, and Festus the dragon stomped his feet. One of his ruby eyes flickered, so it looked like he was blinking.**

"That this is so real, it's creepy." Rachel said.

**"Is that normal?" Jason asked. **

**Leo pulled a rubber mallet from his tool bag. He whacked the dragon's bad eye, and the light went back to normal.**

"Nice fix," Percy grumbled.

**"Yes," Leo said. "Festus can't hang around here, though, in the middle of the park. They'll arrest him for loitering."**

"I don't think they will," Nico said.

**"Maybe if I had a dog whistle..."**

**He rummaged in his tool belt, but came up with nothing.**

**"Too specialized?" he guessed. "Okay, give me a safety whistle. They got that in lots of machine shops."**

"Safety?" Ares asked, "they have whistles for that?"

Athena rolled her eyes, "yes, Ares. They actually do."

"Strange."

**This time, Leo pulled out a big plastic orange whistle. "Coach Hedge would be jealous! Okay, Festus, listen." Leo blew the whistle. The shrill sound probably rolled all the way across Lake Michigan. "You hear that, come find me, okay? Until then, you fly wherever you want. Just try not to barbecue any pedestrians."**

**The dragon snorted - hopefully in agreement. Then he spread his wings and launched into the air.**

"They might've just lost their dragon," Beckendorf said.

**Piper took a step and winced. "Ah!"**

**"Your ankle?" Jason felt bad he'd forgotten about her injury in the Cyclops factory. "That nectar we gave you might be wearing off."**

**"It's fine." She shivered, and Jason remembered his promise to get her a new snowboarding coat. He hoped he lived long enough to find her one. She took a few more steps with only a slight limp, but Jason could tell she was trying not to grimace.**

**"Let's get out of the wind," he suggested.**

**"Down a drain?" Piper shuddered, "sounds cozy."**

"Very."

**They wrapped themselves up as best they could and headed toward the fountain.**

"I have a feeling there's going to be another monster," Hades said.

"The rest of the book is probably going to be about them fighting monsters," Poseidon said, "that's usually how these quests work."

"Perfect," Ares said. "Hopefully there's blood."

**According to the plaque, it was called Crown Fountain. All the water had emptied out except for a few patches that were starting to freeze. It didn't seem right to Jason that the fountain would have water in it in the winter anyway. Then again, those big monitors had flashed the face of their mysterious enemy Dirt Woman. Nothing about this place was right.**

**They stepped to the center of the pool. No spirits tried to stop them. The giant monitor walls stayed dark. The drain hole was easily big enough for a person, and a maintenance ladder led down into the gloom.**

"Sounds fun," Nico said, "dark gloomy places are my style."

**Jason went first. As he climbed, he braced himself for horrible sewer smells, but it wasn't that bad.**

"Seriously?"

**The ladder dropped into a brickwork tunnel running north to south. The air was warm and dry, with only a trickle of water on the floor.**

"I'm not sure that's water," Travis said.

**Piper and Leo climbed down after him.**

**"Are all sewers this nice?" Piper wondered.**

**"No," Leo said. "Trust me."**

"Gross," Aphrodite scowled.

**Jason frowned. "How do you know -"**

**"Hey, man, I ran away six times. I've slept in some weird places, okay? Now, which way do we go?"**

**Jason tilted his head, listening, then pointed south. "That way."**

"How did he know?" Luke asked.

Hero Percy flinched in his sleep, like just hearing Luke's voice hurt him. Original Annabeth squeezed his hand, hoping that he would take that as reassurance. Luke scowled, and sighed. He had a feeling that Original Annabeth was lying when she said that Percy had forgiven him.

**"How can you be sure?" Piper asked.**

**"There's a draft blowing south," Jason said. "Maybe the venti went with the flow."**

**It wasn't much of a lead, but nobody offered anything better.**

**Unfortunately, as soon as they started walking, Piper stumbled. Jason had to catch her.**

"So sweet!" Aphrodite quivered in her chair.

"you're starting to get obsessive," Hermes told her.

"I don't care to hear your comments, Hermes."

**"Stupid ankle," she cursed.**

**"Let's rest," Jason decided. "We could all use it. We've been going nonstop for over a day. Leo, can you pull any food from that tool belt besides breath mints?"**

**"Thought you'd never ask. Chef Leo is on it!"**

"This is going to be entertaining," Apollo murmured.

**Piper and Jason sat on a brick ledge while Leo shuffled through his pack.**

**Jason was glad to rest. He was till tired and dizzy, and hungry, too. Bust mostly, he wasn't eager to face whatever lay ahead. He turned his gold coin in his fingers.**

_**If you are to die,**_** Hera had warned, _it will be by her hand. _**

**Whoever "her" was. After Khione, the Cyclops mother, and the weird sleeping lady, the last thing Jason needed was another psycho villainess in his life.**

"I have so many of those," Ares said.

**"It wasn't your fault," Piper said.**

**He looked at her blankly. "What?"**

**"Getting jumped by the Cyclopes," she said. "It wasn't your fault."**

**He looked down at the coin in his palm. "I was stupid. I left you alone and walking into a trap. I should've known..."**

**He didn't finish. There were too many things he should have known - who he was, how to fight monsters, how Cyclopes lured their victims by mimicking voices and hiding in shadows and a hundred other tricks. All that information was supposed to be in his head. He could feel the places it should be - like empty pockets. If Hera wanted him to succeed, why had she stolen the memories that could help him? She claimed his amnesia had kept him alive, but that made no sense. He was starting to understand why Annabeth had wanted to leave the goddess in her cage.**

Original Annabeth snorted, and Hera glared at her.

**"Hey." Piper nudged his arm. "Cut yourself some slack. Just because you're the son of Zeus doesn't mean you're a one-man army."**

"Yeah, Luke." Other Annabeth smirked and nudged her sleeping boyfriend, like he could hear her.

Percy snorted, he obviously still had some anger toward the son of Hermes.

**A few feet away, Leo lit a small cooking fire. He hummed as he pulled supplies out of his pack and his tool belt.**

**In the firelight, Piper's eyes seemed to dance. Jason had been studying them for days now, and he still couldn't decide what color they were.**

"Cute!"

**"I know this must suck for you," he said. "Bot just the quest, I mean. The way I appeared on the bus, the Mist messing with your mind, and making you think I was... you know."**

"Sounds like he's going to let her down," Silena said. "If he friend zones her, after all the leading on he's done... I'll smack him."

"Let me remind you that were stuck on Olympus," Traitor Perseus muttered, "you can't exactly leave."

**She dropped her gaze. "Yeah, well. None of us asked for this. It's not your fault."**

**She tugged at the little braids on each side of her head. Again, Jason thought how glad he was that she'd lost the Aphrodite blessing. With the makeup and the dress and the perfect hair, she'd looked about twenty-five, glamorous, and completely out of his league. He'd never thought of beauty as a form of power, but that's the way Piper had seemed - _powerful. _**

"Now he's saying that Aphrodite's powerful," Hades said, "this dude is starting to go a little crazy."

**He liked regular Piper better - someone he could hand out with. But the weird thing was, he couldn't quite get that other image out of his head. It hadn't been an illusion. That side of Piper was there too. She just did her best to hide it.**

**"Back in the factory," Jason said, "you were you going to say something about your dad."**

"Backstory time!"

**She traced her finger over the bricks, almost like she was writing out a scream she didn't want to vocalize. "Was I?"**

**"Piper," he said, "he's in some kind of trouble, isn't it?"**

"He can read her like a book," Athena said.

**Over at the fire, Leo stirred some sizzling bell peppers and meat in a pan. "Yeah, baby! Almost there."**

"Food..." Conner whimpered.

**Piper looked on the verge of tears. "Jason... I can't talk about it."**

**"We're your friends. Let us help."**

"Just because they're friends, doesn't mean that you can tell them everything." Artemis muttered.

**That seemed to make her feel worse. She took a shaky breath. "I wish I could, but -"**

**"And bingo!" Leo announced.**

**He came over with three plates stacked on his arms like a waiter. Jason had no idea where he'd gotton all the food, or how he'd put it together so fast, but it looked amazing: pepper and beef tacos with chips and salsa.**

"Salsa?" Will asked, "after the Cyclopes?"

**"Leo," Piper said in amazement. "How did you -?"**

**"Chef Leo's Taco Garage is fixing you up!" he said proudly. "And by the way, it's tofu, not beef, beauty queen, so don't freak. Just dig in!"**

"Tofu," Apollo shivered, "nasty."

**Jason wasn't sure about tofu, but the tacos tasted as good as they smelled. While they ate, Leo tried to lighten the mood and joke around. Jason was grateful Leo was with them. It made being with Piper a little less intense and uncomfortable. At the same time, he kind of wished he _was_ alone with her; but he chided himself for feeling that way.**

"I want to blast him," Aphrodite said.

**After Piper ate, Jason encouraged her to get some sleep. Without another word, she curled up and put her head in his lap. In two seconds she was snoring.**

"Maybe I won't blast him," Aphrodite decided. "Maybe."

**Jason looked up at Leo, who was obviously truing not to laugh.**

**They sat in silence for a few minutes, drinking lemonade Leo had made from canteen water and powdered mix.**

**"Good, huh?" Leo grinned.**

"Lemonade from mix?" Apollo asked, "dude, you've never tasted real lemonade if you think that stuff is good."

**"You should start a stand," Jason said. "Make some serious coin."**

"Seriously dude!"

**But as he stared at the embers of the fire, something began to bother him. "Leo... about his fire stuff you can do... if it true?"**

"Nah."

**Leo's smile faltered. "Yeah, well..." He opened his hand. A small ball of flames burst to life, dancing across his palm.**

Hephaestus did the same.

Ares shifted in his throne nervously.

**"That is so cool," Jason said. "Why didn't you say anything?"**

"Because he hates it," Rachel said, "he thinks it's why his mom is dead."

**Leo closed his hand and the fire went out. "Didn't want to look like a freak."**

**"I have lightning and wind powers," Jason reminded him.**

"Show off," Percy grumbled.

"Someone jealous?" Silena mocked.

Percy shot a sneer back at her.

**"Piper can turn beautiful and charm people into giving her BMW's. You're not more a freak than we are. And, hey, maybe you can fly, too."**

"What?" Original Annabeth asked, "how does that make sense?"

**"Like jump off a building and yell, 'Flame on!'"**

"Seriously?" Other Annabeth sighed, "Leo's insane."

"Can you do that?" Apollo asked Hephaestus. "I mean the 'Flame on!' stuff?"

"I've never tried," Hephaestus grumbled, looking annoyed.

"You totally should!"

"I'm not."

"Please!"

"No."

"Please!"

"No -"

"Please, please, please, please!"

"Apollo!" Artemis glared at her twin, "will you shut up! And stop bothering Hephaestus!"

Poseidon chuckled, "yeah, he'll burn you like he did to Ares."

Ares scowled, and Hephaestus smiled evilly.

"Nevermind," Apollo said.

**Leo snorted. "If I did that, you would see a flaming kid falling to his death, and I would be yelling something a little stronger than 'Flame on!'"**

Hermes laughed, "he actually is funny."

**"Trust me, Hephaestus cabin doesn't see fire powers as cool. Nyssa told me they're super rare. When a demigod like me comes around, bad things happen. _Really _bad."**

"She didn't mean it like that," Hephaestus said softly.

**"Maybe it's the other way around," Jason suggested. "Maybe people with special gifts show up when bad things are happening because that's when they're needed most."**

"That's a cool way to look at it," Will said.

**Leo cleared away the plates. "Maybe. But I'm telling you... it's not always a gift."**

**Jason fell silent. "You're talking about your mom, aren't you? The night she died."**

"You don't just do that!" Demeter shook her head, "that's so insensitive!"

**Leo didn't answer. He didn't have to. The fact that he was quiet, not joking around - that told Jason enough.**

"Yeah, he should've gotten that hint before!" Demeter crossed her arms.

**"Leo, her death wasn't your fault. Whatever happened that night - it wasn't because you could summon fire. This Dirt Woman, whoever she is, has been trying to ruin you for years, mess up your confidence, take away everything you care about. She's trying to make you feel like a failure. You're not. You're important."**

"At least he's a good friend," Other Annabeth muttered.

**"That's what she said." Leo looked up, his eyes full of pain. "She said I was meant to do something important - something that would make or break that big prophecy about the seven demigods. That's what scares me. I don't know if I'm up to it."**

**Jason wanted to tell him everything would be all right, but it would've sounded fake. Jason didn't know _what _would happen. They were demigods, which meant sometimes things didn't end okay. Sometimes you got eaten by the Cyclops.**

"Don't remind us," Clarisse sighed.

**If you asked most kids, "Hey, you want to summon fire or lightning or magical makeup?" they'd think it sounded pretty cool.**

"More like awesome!" Travis said. "Considering I have no real powers."

**But those powers went along with hard stuff, like sitting in a sewer in the middle of winter, running from monsters, losing your memory, watching your friends almost get cooked, and having dreams that warned you of your own death.**

"We have to deal with the same stuff," Conner said, "but we don't get cool powers. So not fair!"

**Leo poked at the remnants of his fire, turning over red-hot coals with his bare hand. "You ever wonder about the other four demigods? I mean... if we're three of the ones from the Great Prophecy, who are the others? Where are they?"**

"That's a good question," Athena said.

**Jason had thought about it, all right, but he tried to push it out of his mind. He had a horrible suspicion that _he _would be expected to lead those other demigods, and he was afraid he would fail.**

"Again," Beckendorf muttered, "a little big headed there, buddy."

"He can't help it," Other Annabeth said, "he's the son of Jupiter, big headedness is in his nature."

"True."

_**You'll tear each other apart, **_**Boreas had promised.**

"The seven will probably hate each other," Will said, "that's just what we need. Seven powerful heroes that hate each other."**  
**

Athena glanced at Hera. She had a feeling that she knew her plan, but she wasn't about ready to reveal it until the story did. Athena couldn't help but think that Hera was digging her own grave... along with every mortal, demigod, and Olympian.

**Jason had been trained to never show fear. He was sure of that from his dream with the wolves. He was supposed to act confident, even if he didn't feel it. But Leo and Piper were depending on him, and he was terrified of failing them. If he had to lead a group of six - six who might not get along - that would be even worse.**

"Tell me about it," Zeus muttered, "but I have eleven."

**"I don't know," he said at last. "I guess the other four will show up when the time it right. Who knows? Maybe they're on some other quest right now."**

**Leo grunted. "I bet their sewer is nicer than ours."**

"Yes, fight over sewers!" Ares encouraged.

"He wasn't serious," Athena told him.

Ares deflated, "well, that's just boring."

**The draft picked up, blowing toward the south end of the tunnel. **

**"Get some rest, Leo," Jason said. "I'll take first watch."**

**It was hard to measure time, but Jason figured his friends slept about four hours. Jason didn't mind.**

"Seriously dude!" Perseus looked surprised, "why would you stay awake like that just for _friends_?"

Asleep Percy flinched.

**Now that he was resting, he didn't really feel the need for more sleep. He'd been conked out long enough on the dragon. Plus, he needed time to think about the quest, his sister Thaila, and Hera's warnings. He also didn't mind Piper's using him for a pillow.**

"This guy is go confusing!" Aphrodite huffed, slumping back in her chair.

**She had a cute way of breathing when she slept - inhaling through the nose, exhaling with a little puff through the mouth. He was almost disappointed when she woke up.**

**Finally they broke camp and started down the tunnel.**

**It twisted and turned and seemed to go on forever. Jason wasn't sure what to expect at the end - a dungeon, a mad scientist's lab, or maybe a sewer reservoir where all Porta-Potty sludge ends up, forming an evil toilet face large enough to swallow the world.**

"Gross."

**Instead, they found polished stall elevator doors, each on engraved with a cursive letter _M_. Next to the elevator was a directory, like for a department store.**

"Awesome!" Silena and Aphrodite said together.

**"M for Macy's?" Piper guessed. "I think they have one in downtown Chicago."**

**"Or Monocle Motors still?" Leo said. **

"It better not be," Luke said, "I'm sick of Cyclopes."

**"Guys, read the directory. It's messed up."**

_**PARKING, KENNELS, MAIN ENTRANCE Sewer Level**_

_**FURNISHING AND CAFE M 1**_

_**WOMEN'S FASHION AND MAGICAL APPLIANCES 2**_

"Let's go there," Aphrodite squealed.

_**MEN'S WEAR AND WEAPONRY 3**_

"I'd like that," Ares and Percy said at the same time. Then they scowled at each other.

_**COSMETICS, POTIONS, POISONS & SUNDRIES 4**_

**"Kennels for what?" Piper said. "And what kind of department store has its entrance in a sewer?"**

"Yeah, that's weird," Other Annabeth admitted.

**"Or sells poisons," Leo said. "Man, what does 'sundries' even mean? Is that like underwear?"**

"That's sad," Silena muttered.

**Jason took a deep breath. "When in doubt, start at the top."**

"Never heard that one before," Hermes said shaking his head.

**The doors slid open on the fourth floor, and the scent of perfume wafted into the elevator. Jason stepped out first, sword ready.**

**"Guys," he said. "you've got to see this."**

**Piper joined him and caught her breath. "This is _not _Macy's."**

"We already figured that out," Percy grumbled.

**The department store looked like the inside of a kaleidoscope. The entire ceiling was stained glass mosaic with astrological signs around a giant sun. The daylight streaming through it washed everything in a thousand different colors. The upper floors made a ring of balconies around a huge central atrium, so they could see all the way down to the ground floor. Gold railings glittered so brightly, they were hard to look at.**

"Sounds fabulous!" Aphrodite said dreamily.

**Aside from the stained glass ceiling and the elevator, Jason couldn't see any other windows or doors, but two sets of glass escalators ran between the levels. The carpeting was a riot of oriental patterns and colors, and the racks of merchandise were just as bizarre. There was too much to take it at once, but Jason saw normal stuff like shirt racks and shoe trees mixed in with armored manikins, beds of nails, and fur coats that seemed to be moving.**

"That doesn't sound too bad," Aphrodite muttered.

**Leo stepped to the railing and looked down. "Check it out."**

**In the middle of the atrium a fountain sprayed water twenty feet into the air, changing color from red to yellow to blue. The pool glittered with gold coins, and on either side of the fountain stood a gilded cage - like an oversize canary cage.**

"This is going to be dangerous."

**Inside one, a miniature hurricane swirled, and lightning flashed. Somebody had imprisoned the storm spirits, and the cage shuddered as they tried to get out. In the other, frozen like a statue, was a short, buff satyr, holding a tree-branch club.**

"Coach!" Original Annabeth smiled, "at least they found _you._"

**"Coach Hedge!" Piper said. "We've got to get down there."**

**A voice said, "May I help you find something."**

**All three of them jumped back.**

**A woman had just _appeared _in front of them. She wore an elegant black dress with diamond jewelry, and she looked like a retired fashion model - maybe fifty years old, though it was hard for Jason to judge. Her long dark hair swept over one shoulder, and her face was gorgeous in that surreal supermodel way - thin and haughty and cold, not quite human. With their long red-painted nails, her fingers looked more like talons.**

"Creepy," Travis muttered.

**She smiled. "I'm so happy to see new customers. How may I help you?"**

**Leo glanced at Jason like, _All yours._**

**"Um," Jason started, "is this your store?"**

**The woman nodded. "I found it abandoned, you know. I understand so many stores are, these days. I decided it would make the perfect place. I love collecting tasteful objects, helping people, and offering quality goods at a reasonable price. So this seems a good... how do you say... first acquisition in this country."**

"Probably another goddess," Luke muttered.

**She spoke with a pleasing accent, but Jason couldn't guess where from. Clearly she wasn't hostile, though. Jason started to relax. Her voice was rich and exotic. Jason wanted to hear more.**

**"So you're new to America?" he asked.**

**"I am... new," the woman agreed. "I am the Princess of Colchis. My friends call me Your Highness. Now, what are you looking for?"**

"'Your Highness?'" Hermes said, "another one of those."

**Jason had heard of rich foreigners buying American department stores. Of course most of the time they didn't sell poisons, living fur coats, storm spirits, or satyrs, but still - with a nice voice like that, the Princess of Colchis couldn't be all bad.**

**Piper poked him in the ribs. "Jason..."**

**"Um, right. Actually, Your Highness..." he pointed to the gilded cage on the first floor. "That's our friend down there, Gleeson Hedge. The satyr. Could we... have him back, please?"**

"That was pathetic."

**"Of course!" the princess agreed immediately. "I would love to show you my inventory. First, may I know your names?"**

"Don't tell her," Athena said.

**Jason hesitated. It seemed like a bad idea to give out their names. A memory tugged at the back of his mind - something Hera had warned him about, but it seemed fuzzy.**

"She's that one that is going to kill him," Original Annabeth figured out.

**On the other hand, Her Highness was on the verge of cooperating. If they could get what they wanted without a fight, that would be better. Besides, this lady didn't seem like an enemy.**

"She's powerful," Demeter noted.

"Very," Athena agreed, "she might be a problem."

**Piper started to say, "Jason, I wouldn't -"**

**"This is Piper," he said. "This is Leo. I'm Jason."**

"Idiot," Clarisse muttered.

**The princess fixed her eyes on him and, just for a moment, her face literally glowed, blazing with so much anger, Jason could see her skull beneath her skin. Jason's mind was getting blurrier, but he knew something didn't seem right. Then the moment passed, and Her Highness looked like a normal elegant woman again, with a cordial smile and a soothing voice.**

"Why is everything in this world scary!?" Conner whined.

**"Jason. What an interesting name," she said, her eyes as cold as the Chicago wind.**

"He's screwed."

**"I think we'll have to make a special dead for you. Come, children. Let's go shopping."**

"They are so dead," Ares chuckled, but he did it quieter than he used too. He seemed to have a new found fear of Hephaestus, and withheld his death threats. But he couldn't stop saying them all together. That would just be out of character, wouldn't it?

"Who's reading now?" Hermes muttered.

"I think we should just do down the line now," Athena said. "It's annoying asking every chapter."

"When are we going to have lunch?!" Travis whined, "it's like ten! And I'm starving!"

Hermes sighed, "one more chapter."

Travis and Conner pouted, "fine."

"So, Apollo," Hermes muttered, tossing the book is his neighbor throne's lap. "You're next."

Apollo wasn't really listening, he had in head phones on and was playing flappy bird.

"What?" he cried. "I was at _twelve!_" He cried, "you made me die! Why do you hate me!?"

"Apollo, get over it," Artemis grumbled, "it's just a stupid game."

"It's the most difficult game in the entire world!" Apollo pointed a finger at her, "you don't understand!"

"No, I don't." Artemis scowled at him, "but I don't want to. So hurry up and read the next chapter. You can finish your stupid bird game when you finish."

"Why do you all hate me?!"

**END OF JASON 26**

* * *

**So. How did you like that? I gave you want you've been wanting, while still withholding. I think a gained a win. **

**But I have a question, how many of you have watched Divergent, the movie? I'm going tomorrow. And I want to know if it's good or not. But no spoilors. I will hunt your down and kill you if you say a spoiler. **

**So review and tell me about Divergent, I'll tell you on Monday how I like it in the next update.**

**And next week will be Spring Break! I'm doing nothing, which if lucky for you guys, because that will probably mean that I'll be writing alot. So there might be a extra update on Wednesday. Maybe. Don't hold me too it, because I have a feeling that it also might not happen.**

**Review! But no spoilers.**


	29. Piper 27

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

**PIPER 27**

**Piper wanted to run for the elevator.**

Apollo read.

"At least she has some brains," Nico grumbled.

"Wait a second," Original Annabeth said, "you said that you know Jason. Like a Jason that is about your age?" she asked Nico.

Nico nodded, "yeah. So?"

"So he doesn't die."

"Not necessarily," Athena said, "he could be from a reality where Jason lives, and these books didn't happen."

"This is just getting more and more confusing," Rachel sighed.

"Tell me about it," Percy grumbled, "I'm supposed to be dead!"

**Her second choice: attack the weird princess now, because she was sure a fight was coming. The way the lady's face glowed when she'd heard Jason's name had been bad enough. Now Her Highness was smiling like nothing had happened, and Jason and Leo didn't sem to think anything was wrong.**

**The princess gestured toward the cosmetics counter. "Shall we start with the potions?"**

**"Cool," Jason said.**

**"Guys," Piper interrupted, "we're here to get the storm spirits and Coach Hedge. If this - _princess _- is really our friend -"**

**"Oh, I'm better than a friend, my dear,"**

"I'm your dying cause?"

**Her Highness said. "I'm a saleswoman." Her diamonds sparkled, and her eyes glittered like a snake's - cold and dark. "Don't worry. We'll work out way down to the first floor, eh?"**

"That sounds like hell," Apollo muttered.

"Sounds fun to me," Aphrodite was smiling like she's just gotten more jewelry.

**Leo nodded eagerly. "Sure. Yeah! That sounds okay. Right, Piper?"**

**Piper did her best to stare daggers at him: _No, it is not okay!_**

**"Of course it's okay," Her Highness put her hands on Leo's and Jason's shoulders and steered them toward the cosmetics. "Come along, boys."**

"Why would boys even want to go shopping?" Other Annabeth asked, "what do they need in that store?"

**Piper didn't have much choice except to follow.**

**She hated department sores - mostly because she'd gotten caught stealing from several of them. Well, not exactly _caught, _and not exactly _stealing. _She'd talked salesmen into giving her computers, new boots, a gold ring, once even a lawn mover, though she had no idea why she wanted one. She never kept the stuff. She just did it to get her dad's attention. Usually she talked her neighborhood UPS guy into taking the stuff back. but of course the salesmen she duped always came to their senses and called the police, who eventually tracked her down.**

"Poor UPS guy," Hermes muttered.

**Anyway, she wasn't thrilled to be back in a department store - especially one run by a crazy princess who glowed in the dark.**

"That would be awesome!"

**"And here," the princess said, "is the finest assortment of magical mixtures anywhere."**

**The counter was crammed with bubbling beakers and smoking vials on tripods. Lining the display shelves were crystal flasks - some shaped like swans of honey bear dispensers. The liquid inside were ever color, from glowing white to polka-dotted. And the smells - ugh! **

"Wow, graffic."

**Some were pleasant, like fresh-backed cookies or roses, but they were mixed with the scents of burning tires, skunk spray, and gym lockers.**

**The princess pointed to a bloodred vial - a simple test tube with a cork stopper. "This one will heal any disease."**

Apollo snorted, "so can I."

**"Even cancer?" Leo asked. "Leprosy? Hangnails?"**

"That's not a disease," Other Annabeth sighed and squeezed Hero Luke's hand.

**"Any disease, sweet boy. And this vial " - she pointed to a swan-shaped container with blue liquid inside - "will kill you very painfully."**

"That's smart," Ares complimented, "putting it in a swan vial."

**"Awesome," Jason said. His voice sounded dazed and sleepy **

**"Jason," Piper said. "We've got a job to do. Remember?"**

**She tried to put power into her words, to snap him out of his trance with charmspeak, but her voice sounded shaky even to her. This princess woman scared her too much, made her confidence crumble, just the way she'd felt back in the Aphrodite cabin with Drew.**

"Drew's that scary?" Clarisse muttered.

**"Job to do," Jason muttered. "Sure. But shopping first, okay?"**

**The princess beamed at him. "Then we have potions for resisting fire -"**

**"Got that covered," Leo said.**

"Don't tell her," Will sighed.

**"Indeed?" The princess studied Leo's face more closely. "You don't appear to be wearing my trademark sunscreen... but no matter. We also have potions that cause blindness, insanity, sleep, or -"**

**"Wait." Piper was still staring at the red vial. "Could that potion cure lost memory?"**

"That might just work," Artemis muttered.

**The princess narrowed her eyes. "Possible. Yes. Quite possibly. Why, my dear? Have you forgotten something important?"**

"Not her," Hermes said, "Jason."

"Thanks Captain Obvious."

**Piper tried to keep her expression neutral, but if that vial could cure Jason's memory...**

**Do I really want that? she wondered.**

"Don't be selfish," Aphrodite muttered, "please."

**If Jason found out who he was, he might bot even be her friend. Hera had taken away his memories for a reason. She'd told him if was the only way he'd survive at Camp Half-Blood. What if Jason found out that he was their enemy, or something?**

"He is our enemy," Clarisse muttered, "you should just kill him now."

Ares smiled at his daughter.

"Great, two hostile people are in this room now," Artemis grumbled. "I'm so used to there only being Ares."

**He might come out of his amnesia and decide he hated Piper. He might have a girlfriend wherever he came from.**

**It doesn't matter, she decided, which kind of surprised her. **

**Jason always looked so anguished when he tried to remember things. Piper hates seeing him that way. She wanted to help him because she cared about him, even if that meant losing him.**

Aphrodite sighed in relief.

**And maybe it would make this trip through Her Craziness's department store worthwhile.**

**"How much?" Piper asked.**

**The princess got a faraway look in her eyes. "Well, now... The price is always tricky. I love helping people. Honestly, I do."**

"For some reason I doubt that," Other Annabeth said, but she didn't look up from Luke's face when she said it. The way she acted, you could tell that the two were super close. Other Annabeth acted like he was gone for years more than just three days.

Original Annabeth knew how that felt, but she was wasn't paying too much attention to her sleeping boyfriend. Just having him near her was reassurance, having his hand in her was enough to keep her sane. She didn't have to keep looking at his face to make sure that he was _really _there.

**"And I always keep my bargains, but sometimes people try to cheat me." **

"I wonder why."

**Her gaze drifted to Jason. "Once, for instance, I met a handsome young mad who wanted treasure from my father's kingdom. We made a bargain, and I promised to help him steal it."**

"She's not a very good daughter," Poseidon scowled.

**"From your own dad?" Jason still looked had in a trance, but the idea seemed to bother him.**

**"Oh, don't worry," the princess said. "I demanded a high price. The young man had to take me away with him. He was quite good-looking, dashing, strong..."**

Aphrodite said, "tell me about it."

**She looked at Piper. "I'm sure, my dear, you understand how one might be attracted to such a hero, and want to help him."**

Other Annabeth nodded and squeezed Hero Luke's hand.

**Piper tried to control her emotions, but she probably blushed. She got the creepiest feeling the princess could read her thoughts.**

"_That _would be bad." Traitor Luke muttered.

**She also found the princess's story disturbingly familiar. Pieces of old myths she'd read with her dad started coming together, but this woman couldn't be the one she was thinking of.**

"It can't be," Athena muttered, "she's dead."

**"At any rate," Her Highness continued, "my hero had to do many impossible tasks, and I'm not bragging when I say he couldn't have done them without me. I betrayed my own family to win the hero his prize. And still he cheated me of my payment."**

"That's got to suck," Apollo paused.

**"Cheated?" Jason frowned, as if trying to remember something important.**

**"That's messed up," Leo said.**

**Her Highness patted his cheek affectionately. "I'm sure you don't need to worry, Leo. You seem honest. You would always pay a fair price, wouldn't you?"**

Hephaestus scowled, the air heated up around him.

**Leo nodded. "What were we buying again? I'll take two."**

**Piper broke in: "So, the vial, Your Highness - how much?"**

**The princess assessed Piper's clothes, her face, her posture, as if putting a price on one slightly used demigod.**

"That's rude," Aphrodite huffed.

**"Would you give anything for it, my dear?" the princess asked. "I sense that you would."**

"Don't do it," Rachel muttered.

**The words washed over Piper as powerfully as a good surfing wave. The force of the suggestion nearly lifted her off her feet. She wanted to pay any price. She wanted to say yes.**

"Charmspeak."

**Then her stomach twisted. Piper realized she was being charmspoken. She's sensed something like it before, when Drew spoke at the campfire, but this campfire, but this was a thousand times more potent. No wonder her friends were dazed. Was _this _was what people felt when Piper used charmspeak? A feeling of guilt settled over her.**

**She summoned all her willpower. "No, I won't pay _any _price. But a fair price, maybe. After that, we need to leave. Right, guys?"**

**Just for a moment, her words seemed to have some effect. The boys looked confused.**

**"Leave?" Jason said.**

**"You mean... after shopping?" Leo asked.**

**Piper wanted to scream, but the princess tilted her head, examining Piper with newfound respect.**

Aphrodite smiled proudly.

**"Impressive," the princess said. "Not many people could resist my suggestions. Are you a child of Aphrodite, my dear? Ah, yes - I should have seen it. No matter. Perhaps we should shop a while longer before you decide to buy, eh?"**

**"But the vial -"**

"I thought that she was going to kill her," Poseidon muttered.

**"Now, boys." She turned to Jason and Leo. Her voice was so much more powerful than Piper's, so full of confidence, Piper didn't stand a chance. "Would you like to see more?"**

**"Sure," Jason said.**

**"Okay," Leo said.**

**"Excellent," the princess said. "You'll need all the help you can get if you're to make it to the Bay Area."**

**Piper's hands moved to her dagger.**

"Fight her," Ares urged, "please."

"It's almost like your begging," Athena muttered.

"I am not."

Athena chuckled.

**She thought about her dream of the mountaintop - the scene. Enceladus had shown her, a place she knew, where she was supposed to betray her friend in two days. **

**"The Bay Ares?" Piper said. "Why the Bay Area?"**

"Good question."

**The princess smiled. "Well, that's where they'll die, isn't it?"**

"Wait, what?" Travis asked, "I'm confused."

**Then she led them toward the escalators, Jason and Leo still looking excited to shop.**

"That's it," Apollo said, then he handed it off to his twin.

Artemis sigh, "first we have lunch."

"Everyone excused for forty minutes lunch." Zeus ordered.

**END OF PIPER 27**

**Divergent was awesome! I loved it, and even my friends who haven't read the book liked it. So if you're going to see it I give it four and a half stars.**


	30. Piper 28

**We're over halfway into the book! At chapter 28, and on page 302. We have about 200 pages left!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

The group made their way to the eating area.

They had left the sleeping heroes at their couches, despite the Annabeths protests.

They all sat at their regulated places. Demigods (besides Traitor Percy) sat next to their godly parents.

Just thinking what they wanted to eat, their desired food magically appeared at their plates.

The usual conversation went on:

"So do you think the prissy's will survive? I don't." Ares muttered to Clarisse, who almost looked annoyed of her father.

"I really don't care," she grumbled and took a bite out of her steak.

"I can't believe Percy got that hot that fast!" Silena said excitedly across the table to Original Annabeth who was eating a cheeseburger.

Beckendorf heard her from farther down the table and gave Original Annabeth an apologetic look.

"I mean, he used to be cute, but now -"

"Silena," Original Annabeth said slowly, "you've said it about nine times. We all know how he changed."

"You're just so lucky! I mean, he's the nicest guy, but it's also a plus that he's super hot!"

Aphrodite squealed, "I totally agree! She got, like, the total package!"

Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"He's like the best hero since Hercules, he's nice, and he's supermodel hot!" Aphrodite sighed.

"I don't think he's that hot," Annabeth muttered, "I don't really care."

Aphrodite snorted, "fine, then. Be that way." Then her and Silena started to talk about how hot Hero Luke was. But Other Annabeth was listening at all. She stared down at her soup, looking a little sick.

"Darling," Athena said softly, "are you alright?"

Other Annabeth shrugged her off, and took a sip of her soup to prove that she was fine.

On the other end of the table, the Big Three were trying to pry information out of Nico.

"So do we win the upcoming war?" Poseidon asked.

"Well, obviously." Hades grumbled, "Nico is here, isn't he?"

Nico sighed, "I'm not allowed to say anything about the future. You all should know that."

"I just want to know it that stupid spawn of Poseidon lives," Zeus grumbled, "no one makes a fool out of me and gets away with it."

Poseidon groaned, "we've been over this! Perseus had the right to decline your gift! It isn't a gift if you cannot turn it down! It's a forced arrangement!"

"Yes," Hades smirked, "but it is awfully rude."

"See!"

"Shut up!"

Nico groaned.

"I think it's weird seeing Nico," Travis muttered, "I mean, him being _that _old."

Conner nodded, and chewed his sandwich. "I wonder what we look like in his time..."

They both looked at each other. "Nico!"

* * *

**PIPER 28**

After everyone was done eating. The gods, demigods, and mortal went back into the throne room to let Artemis read.

**Piper cornered the princess as Jason and Leo went off to check out the living fur coats.**

"That's not good," Aphrodite muttered.

"No. It's awesome!" Ares laughed.

Aphrodite glared at him, her eyes turning red.

"Never mind," Ares said quickly, "that's not good at all."

Aphrodite smiled, "thank you for agreeing."

Hephaestus smirked at Ares and grabbed Aphrodite's hand, she smiled back at him, Ares death glared.

**"You want them shopping for their deaths?" Piper demanded.**

**"Mmm." The princess blew dust off a display case of swords. "I'm a seer, my dear. I know your little secret. But we don't want to dwell on that, do we? The boys are having such fun."**

Silena snorted, "I've never heard of boys having fun shopping."

**Leo laughed as he tried on a hat that seemed to be made from enchanted raccoon fur.**

Hephaestus shuddered, "he might be rabies."

**Its ringed tail twitched, and its little legs wiggled frantically as Leo walked. Jason was ogling the men's sportswear.**

"Well that part kinda makes sense," Silena admitted.

**Boys interested in shopping for clothes?**

"Sisters think alike," Beckendorf said.

**A definite sign they were under an evil spell.**

**Piper glared at the princess. "Who are you?"**

**"I told you, my dear. I'm the Princess of Colchis."**

"Yeah, like we know what that means," Percy grumbled.

**"Where's Colchis?"**

**The princess's expression turned a little sad. "Where _was_ Colchis, you mean. My father ruled the far shores of the Black Sea, as far to the east as a Greek shop could sail in those days. But Colchis is no more - lost eons ago."**

"Sucks for you."

**"Eons?" Piper asked. The princess looked no more than fifty, but a bad feeling started settling over Piper - something King Boreas had mentioned back in Quebec. "How old are you?"**

"Well that's rude," Aphrodite scowled.

**The princess laughed. "A lady should avoid asking or answering that question. Let's just say the, ah, immigration process to enter your country took quite a while. My patron finally brought me through. She made all this possible."**

"Again with that," Original Annabeth muttered, "who is the patron?" She looked up at Hera.

"It's not me," Hera muttered, "I would never bring that horror back."

**The princess swept her hand around the department store.**

**Piper's mouth tasted like metal. "Your patron..."**

**"Oh, yes. She doesn't bring just anyone through, mind you - only those who have special talents, such as me. And really, she insisted on so little - a store entrance that must be underground so she can, ah, monitor my clientele; and a favor now that then. In exchange for a new life? Really, it was the best bargain I'd made in centuries."**

Underground, Original Annabeth thought, why would it need to be underground?

_**Run, **_**Piper thought. _We have to get out of here._**

**But before she could even turn her thoughts into words, Jason called, "Hey, check it out!"**

**From a rack labeled DISTRESSED CLOTHING, he held up a purple T-shirt like the one he'd worn on the school field trip - except this shit looked as if it had been clawed by tigers._  
_**

"Probably had been," Hades shrugged.

**"Jason, it's like _yours,_" Piper said. "Now we really have to leave." But she wasn't sure he could even hear her anymore through the princess's enchantment.**

**"Nonsense," the princess said. "The boys aren't done, are they? And yes, my dear. Those shirts are very popular - trade ins from previous customers. It suits you."**

"That's because it's a Roman shirt," Athena said, "and Jason's Roman."

**Leo picked up an orange Camp Half-Blood tee with a hole through the middle, as if it had been hit by a javelin.**

Original Annabeth finches, and she thought Hero Percy had too. But she couldn't be sure, he was asleep.

**Next to that was a dented bronze breastplate pitted with corrosion - acid, maybe? - and a Roman toga slashed to pieces and stained with something that looked disturbingly like dried blood.**

**"Your Highness," Piper said, trying to control her nerves. "Why don't you tell the boys how you betrayed your family . I'm sure they'd like to hear that story."**

**Her words didn't have any effect on the princess, but the boys turned, suddenly interested.**

**"More story?" Leo asked.**

**"I like more story!" Jason agreed.**

"What happened to their english?!" Athena said suddenly annoyed.

**The princess flashed Piper an irritated look. "Oh, one will do strange for love, Piper. You should know that. I fell for that young hero, in fact, because your mother Aphrodite had me under a spell."**

"Seriously?" Demeter asked Aphrodite, "you cursed someone?"

Aphrodite waved her off, "I curse lots of people!"

**"If it wasn't for her - but I can't hold a grudge against a goddess, can I?"**

Aphrodite glared.

**The princess's tone made her meaning clear: _I can take it out on you._**

"She better not," Aphrodite grumbled, she was clenching the poofy armrests of her throne.

**"But that hero took you with him when he fled Colchis," Piper remembered. "Didn't he, Your Highness? He married you just as he promised."**

"Then whats her problem?" Ares asked.

**The look in the princess's eyes made Piper want to apologize, but she didn't back down.**

**"At first," Her Highness admitted, "it seemed he would keep his word. But even after I helped him steal my father's treasure, he _still _needed my help. As we fled, my brother's fleet came after us. His warships overtook us. He would have destroyed us, but I convinced my brother to come aboard our ship first and talk under a flag of truce. He trusted me."**

**"And you killed your own brother," Piper said, the horrible story all coming back to her, along with a name - an infamous name that began with the letter _M._**

The Annabeths paled. They knew this story.

**"What?" Jason stirred. For a moment he looked almost like himself. "Killed your own -"**

**"No," the princess snapped. "Those stories are lies. It was my new husband and his men who killed my brother, though they couldn't have done it without my deception. They threw his body into the sea, and the pursuing fleet had to stop and search for it so they could give my brother a proper burial."**

Travis shivered, "I don't like stories like these."

**"This gave us time to get away. All this, I did for my husband. And he forgot our bargain. He betrayed me in the end."**

**Jason still looked uncomfortable. "What did he do?"**

**The princess held the sliced-up toga against Jason's chest, as if measuring him for an assassination. "Don't you know the story, my boy? You of all people should. You were named for him."**

"Good job Zeus!" Hades grumbled, "naming your sons after other heroes, brilliant!"

"Hey," Zeus protested, "Poseidon did the same thing!"

Poseidon smirked, "the real Perseus never really betrayed anyone, or angered anyone. That's why I named Percy after him."

Hero Percy flinched when he heard his father say his name.

**"Jason," Piper said. "The _original _Jason. But then you're - you should be dead!"**

"How is she alive?" Athena wondered again.

**The princess smiled. "As I said, a new life in a new country. Certainly I made mistakes. I turned my back on my own people. I was called a traitor, a thief, a liar, a murderess."**

Traitor Luke flinched at each word, they they all were being pointed at him.

Traitor Percy smiled.

**"But I acted out of love." She turned to the boys and gave them a pitiful look, batting her eyelashes. Piper could feel the sorcery washing over them, taking control more firmly than ever. "Wouldn't you do the same for someone you loved, my dear?"**

**"Oh, sure," Jason said.**

**"Okay," Leo said. **

**"Guys!" Piper ground her teeth in frustration. "Don't you see who she is? Don't you -"**

**"Let's continue, shall we?" the princess said breezilly. "I believe you wanted to talk about a price for the storm spirits - and your satyr."**

**Leo got distracted on the second floor with the appliances.**

"Appliances are quite distracting," Hephaestus agreed.

**"No way," he said. "Is that an armored forge?"**

"Oh, yeah. That's distracting."

**Before Piper could stop him, he hopped off the escalator and ran over to a big oval oven that looked like a barbecue on steroids.**

**When they caught up with him, the princess said, "You have good taste. This is the H-2000, designed by Hephaestus himself. Hot enough to melt Celestial bronze or Imperial gold."**

"Oh, wow," Apollo said sarcastically, "that's _really _cool."

"It is," Hephaestus agreed, not noticing the sarcasm.

**Jason flinched as if he recognized that term. "Imperial gold?"**

**The princess nodded. "Yes, my dear. Like that weapon so cleverly concealed in your pocket. To be properly forged, Imperial gold had to be constructed in the Temple of Jupiter on Capitoline Hill in Rome. Quite a powerful and rare metal, but like the Roman emperors, quite volatile. Be sure never to break that blade..." She smiled pleasantly. "Rome was _after _my time, of course, but I do hear stories. And now over here - this golden throne is one of my finest luxury items."**

Hephaestus paled, and glanced over to Hera.

**"Hephaestus made it as a punishment for his mother, Hera. Sit in it and you'll be immediately trapped."**

"You made what!?" Hera gasped at looked at her son.

Hephaestus shrunk in his throne.

**Leo apparently took this as an order. He began walking toward it in a trance.**

"Now it's going to be used to trap your son," Hera grumbled.

**"Leo, don't!" Piper warned.**

**He blinked. "How much for both?"**

**"Oh, the seat I could let you have for five great deeds. The forge, seven years of servitude. And for only a bit of your strength - " She led Leo into the appliance section, giving his prices on various items.**

**Piper didn't want to leave him alone with her, but she had o try reasoning with Jason. She pulled him aside and slapped him across the face.**

"Wow," Conner muttered, "she's serious."

**"Ow," he muttered sleepily. "What was that for?"**

**"Snap out of it!" Piper hissed.**

**"What do you mean?"**

**"She's charmspeaking you. Can't you feel it?"**

**He knit his eyebrows. "She seemed okay."**

**"She's not okay! She shouldn't even be alive! She was married to Jason - the _other _Jason - three thousand years ago. Remember what Boreas sad - something about the souls no longer being confined to Hades? It's not just monsters who can't stay dead. She's come back from the Underworld!"**

"You suck at your job," Demeter scowled at Hades.

**Jason shook his head uneasily. "She's not a ghost."**

**"No, she's worst! She's -"**

**"Children." The princess was back with Leo in tow. "If you please, we will now see what you came for. That is what you want, yes?"**

"Well yeah," Percy grumbled. "I'm sick of the stupid department store.

**Piper had to choke back a scream. She was tempted to pull out her dagger and take on this witch herself, but she didn't like her chances - not in the middle of Her Highness's department sore while her friends were under a spell. Piper couldn't even be sure they'd take her side in a fight. She had to figure out a better plan.**

**They took the escalator down to the base of the fountain. For the first time, Piper noticed two large bronze sundials - each about the size of a trampoline - inlaid on the marble tile floor to the north and south of the fountain.**

"That's a weird decorating choice," Beckendorf muttered.

"It's a _horrible _decorating choice!" Silena looked horrified.

**The gilded oversize canary cages stood to the east and west, and the farthest one help the storm spirits. They were so densely packed, spinning around like super-concentrated tornado, that Piper couldn't tell how many there were - dozens, at least.**

**"Hey," Leo said, "Coach Hedge looks okay!"**

"At least that's one good thing," Hephaestus muttered.

**They ran to the nearest canary cage. The old satyr seemed to have been petrified at the moment he was sucked into the sky above the Grand Canyon. He was frozen mid-shout, his club raised over his head like he was ordering the gym class to drop and giver him fifty.**

"Fifty?!" Conner asked, "that's hell!"

**His curly hair stuck up at odd angles. If Piper just concentrated on certain details - the bright orange polo shirt, the wispy goatee, the whistle around his neck - she could imagine Coach Hedge as his good old annoying self. But it was hard to ignore the stubby horns on his head, and the fact that he had furry goat legs and hooves instead of workout pants and Nikes.**

**"Yes," the princess said. "I always keep my wares in good condition. We can certainly barter for the storm spirits and the satyr. A package deal. If we came to terms, I'll even throw in the vial of healing potion, and you can go in peace." **

"That's sounds too good to be true," Poseidon muttered.

**She gave Piper a shrew look. "That's better than starting unpleasantness, isn't it, dear?"**

_**Don't trust her, **_**warned a voice in her head. If Piper was right about this lady's identity, nobody would be leaving in peace. A fair deal wasn't possible. It was all a trick. But her friends were looked at her, nodding urgently and mouthing, _Say yes!_ **

"Idiots," Perseus grumbled.

**Piper needed more time to think.**

**"We can negotiate," she said.**

**"Totally!" Leo agreed. "Name your price."**

**"Leo!" Piper snapped.**

**The princess chuckled. "Name my price? Perhaps not the best haggling strategy, my boy, but at least you know a thing's value. Freedom is very valuable indeed. You would ask me to release this satyr, who attacked my storm winds -"**

"She has a point," Nico agreed.

**"Who attacked us," Piper interjected.**

"She also has a point," Nico nodded.

**Her Highness shrugged. "As I said, my patron asks me for small favors for time to time. Sending the storm spirits to abduct you - that was one. I assure you it was nothing personal."**

Original Annabeth snorted.

**"And no harm done, as you came here, in the end, of your own free will! At any rate, you want the satyr freed, and you want my storm spirits - who are very valuable servants, by the way - so you can hand them over to that tyrant Aeolus. Doesn't seem quite fair, does it? The price will be high."**

"I hate it when evil people think they're smart," Travis muttered.

"Yeah," Other Annabeth agreed, glancing over at Traitor Percy, "me too."

**Piper could see that her friends were ready to offer anything, promise anything. Before they could speak, she played her last card.**

**"You're Medea," she said. "You helped the original Jason steal the Golden Fleece. You're on of the most evil villains in Greek mythology. Jason, Leo - don't trust her."**

"It won't work," Clarisse muttered.

**Piper put all the intensity she could gather into those words. She was utterly sincere, and t seemed to have some effect. Jason stepped away from the sorceress.**

"It might," Hermes said.

**Leo scratched his head and looked around like he was coming out of a dream.**

**"What are we doing, again?"**

"Is worked?" Ares said confused.

**"Boys!" The princess spread her hands in a welcoming gesture. Her diamond jewelry glittered, and her painted fingers curled like blood-tipped claws. "It's true, I'm Medea. But I'm so misunderstood. Oh, Piper, my dear, you don't know what it was like for woman in the old days. We had no power, no leverage. Often we couldn't even choose our own husbands."**

"She has another point," Athena muttered, "I'm sad to admit it."

**"But _I _was different. I chose my own destiny by becoming a sorceress. Is that so wrong? I made a pact with Jason: my help to win the fleece, in exchange for his love. A fair deal. He became a famous hero! Without me, he would've died unknown on the shores of Colchis."**

**Jason - Piper's Jason - scowled. "Then... you really did die three thousand years ago? You came back from the Underworld."**

"Which shouldn't happen!" Demeter scowled at Hades, and he glared back.

**"Death no longer hold me, young hero," Medea said, "Thanks to my patron, I am flesh and blood again."**

**"You... re-formed?" Leo blinked. "Like a monster?"**

**Medea spread her finger, and steam hissed from her nails, like water splashed on hot iron.**

Aphrodite held her nails out, they were colored red, but they didn't steam.

**"You have no idea what's happening, do you, my dears? It is so much worse than a stirring of monsters from Tartarus. My patron knows that giants and monsters are not her greatest servants. _I _am mortal. I learn from my mistakes. And now I have returned to the living, I will not be cheated again. Now, here is my price for what you ask."**

"She's rising all the giants?" Original Annabeth thought aloud.

**"Guys," Piper said. "The original Jason left Medea because she was crazy and bloodthirsty."**

**"Lies!" Medea said.**

**"On the way back from Colchis, Jason's shop landed at another kingdom, and Jason agreed to dump Medea and marry the king's daughter."**

"This dude was a player!"

**"After I bore his two children!" Medea said. "Still he broke his promise! I ask you, was that right?"**

"Well, no."

**Jason and Leo dutifully shook their heads, but Piper wasn't through.**

**"It may not have been right," she said, "but neither was Medea's revenge. She murdered her own children to get back at Jason. She poisoned his new wife and fled the kingdom."**

"Her kids!" Rachel looked horrified. "I mean I understand the wife, but the kids had nothing to do with this!"

**Medea snarled. "An invention to ruin my reputation! The people of the Corinth - that unruly mob - killed my children and drove me out. Jason did nothing to protect me. He robbed me of everything. So yes, I sneaked back into the palace and poisoned his lovely new bride. It was only fair - a suitable price."**

**"You're insane," Piper said.**

**"I am the victim!" Medea wailed. "I died with my dreams shattered, but no longer. I know now not to trust heroes. When they come asked for treasures, they will pay a heavy price. Especially when the one asking has the name of Jason!"**

"She's entertaining," Perseus grumbled.

"You're crazier than she is," Other Annabeth sneered.

**The fountain turned bright red. Piper drew her dagger, but her hand was shaking almost too badly to hold it. "Jason, Leo - it's time to go. _Now._"**

"Yeah," Hephaestus nodded, "that would be nice."

**"Before you've closed the deal?" Medea asked. "What of your quest, boys? And my price is so easy. Did you know this fountain is magic? If a dead man were to be thrown into it, even if he was chopped to pieces, he would pop back out full formed - stronger and more powerful than before."**

"Why did she just randomly tell them that?" Will asked, "now if she hurts or kills one of them - they would just live again from the fountain!"

**"Seriously?" Leo asked.**

"Oh, never mind. I get it now."

**"Leo, she's lying," Piper said. "She did that trick with somebody before - a king, I think. She convinced his daughters to cut him to pieces so he could come out of the water young and healthy again, but it just killed him!"**

"Again," Rachel said, "that is messed. Even for murder."

**"Ridiculous," Medea said, and Piper could hear the power charged in every syllable. "Leo, Jason - my price is so simple. Why don't you two fight? If you get injured or even killed, no problem. We'll just throw you into the fountain and you'll be better than ever. You _do _want to fight, don't you? You recent each other!"**

"What?" Original Annabeth said. "She wants Jason to kill Leo!"

"That's perfect," Perseus grumbled. "Make them kill themselves. Then you're not to blame."

"They won't do that," Hephaestus muttered, "would they?"

"They are deep into Medea's voice," Original Annabeth told the god. "Who knows what they're going to do."

**"Guys, no!" Piper said. But they were already glaring at each other, as if it was just dawning on them how they really felt.**

"This might get messy," Hades said.

"This is going to be fun," Ares smirked.

**Piper had never felt more helpless. Now she understood what real sorcery looked like. She's always thought magic meant wands and fireballs, but this was worse. Medea didn't just rely on poisons and potions. Her most potent weapon was her voice.**

**Leo scowled. "Jason's always the star. He always get's attention and take me for granted."**

"That is kinda true," Silena muttered.

**"You're annoying, Leo," Jason said. "You never take anything seriously. You can't even fix a dragon."**

"That one isn't true," Silena said, "Leo takes a lot of stuff seriously."

**"Stop!" Piper pleaded, but both drew weapons - Jason his gold sword, and Leo a hammer from his tool belt.**

**"Let them go, Piper," Medea urged. "I'm doing you a favor. Let it happen now, and it will make your choice so much easier. Enceladus will be pleased. You can have your father back today!"  
**

**Medea's charmspeak didn't work on her, but the sorceress still had a persuasive voice. _Her father back today? _Despite her best intentions, Piper wanted that. She wanted her father back so much, it hurt.**

Other Annabeth sighed and held Hero Luke's hand. His face was calm, but his eyes were darting under his eyelids, giving Annabeth the impression that he wasn't really here, in the throne room with her. His body might be, but his mind was elsewhere. He didn't react to her touch, or the voices around him.

Other Annabeth looked over at Traitor Luke. Traitor Luke had a long white scar down the side of his face, when Other Annabeth's Luke's face was smooth and scar less. Traitor Luke also sat with his shoulders hunched, and he hardly talked, when he did he sounded depressed and sad. Hero Luke never looked like that. He always held his head high and proud. His voice steady and confident.

Annabeth also noticed the different between Traitor Percy, and Hero Percy. Hero Percy was the one from her dreams. And he was even more strange in person. Even in his sleep, Percy had a powerful look to him. Besides his messy hair, and wrinkled clothes, his face was strong and handsome. Reminding Other Annabeth of a god - as much as she'd hate to admit.

She felt a strange hatred toward Hero Percy. Annabeth didn't think it was fair that Percy was given the choice of being a god, when Luke wasn't. They both saved the world. And - in Other Annabeth's thoughts - Luke did more work than Percy did. Hero Luke had a bigger enemy - Traitor Percy. Traitor Percy was more powerful than Traitor Luke, his attitude was even worse. Traitor Percy still had a evil and angry feel to him, even after he died. Sure he saved the world in the end, but he still liked watching people suffer. But Traitor Luke was calm, and even guilty over the things that he had done.

So, when Hero Luke was able to save the world from a viciously evil Traitor Percy - who had water control - Other Annabeth figured he deserved to be a god. It wasn't fair that Hero Percy was granted that gift, when he had to conquer a less powerful Traitor Luke, only doing half the things, and still having the advantage of water power. His war was three times easier for him than is was for Luke. It just wasn't fair.

**"You work fr Enceladus," she said.**

**Medea laughed. "Serve a giant? No. But we all serve the same greater cause - a patron you cannot begin to challenge. Walk away, child of Aphrodite. This does not have to be your death, too. Save yourself, and you father can go free."**

"She wouldn't do that," Aphrodite said hopefully.

**Leo and Jason were still facing off, ready to fight, but they looked unsteady and confused - waiting for another order. Part of them had to be resisting, Piper hoped. This went completely against their nature.**

**"Listen to me, girl." Medea plucked a diamond off her bracelet and threw it into a spray of water from the fountain. As if passed through the multicolored light, Medea said, "O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, show me the office of Tristan McLean."**

"This might be bad."

**The mist shimmered, and Piper saw her father's study. Sitting behind his desk, talking on the phone, was her dad's assistant, Jane, in her dark business suit, her hair swirled in a tight bun.**

Aphrodite groaned.

**"Hello, Jane," Medea said.**

**Jane hung up the phone calmly. "How can I help you ma'am? Hello, Piper."**

**"You -" Piper was so angry she could hardly talk.**

**"Yes, child," Medea said. "You're father's assistant. Quite easy to manipulate. An organized mind for a mortal, but incredibly weak."**

Aphrodite chuckled.

**"Thank you, ma'am," Jane said.**

"Idiot."

**"Don't mention it," Medea said. "I just wanted to congratulate you, Jane. Getting Mr. McLean to leave town so suddenly, take his jet to Oakland without alerting the press or the police - well done! No one seemed to know where he's gone. And telling him his daughter's life was on the line - that was a nice touch to get his cooperation."**

Aphrodite's eyes turned dark and stormy, and her hair turned ink black.

**"Yes," Jane agreed in a bland tone, as if she were sleep walking. "He was quite cooperative when he believe Piper was in danger."**

**Piper looked down at her dagger. The blade trembled in her hand. She couldn't use it for a weapon any better than Helen of Troy could, but it was still a looking glass, and what she saw in it was a sacred girl with no chance of winning.**

Aphrodite's eyes softened, and her hair turned brown.

**"I may have new orders for you, Jane," Medea said. "If the girl cooperates, it may be time for Mr. McLean to come home. Would you arrange a suitable cover story for his absence, just in case? And I imagine the poor man will need some time in a psychiatric hospital."**

"Tristan," Aphrodite said softly, "you'll go insane."

**"Yes, ma'am. I will stand by."**

**The image faded, and Medea turned to Piper. "There, you see?"**

**"YOu lured my dad into a trap," Piper said. "You help the giant -"**

**"Oh, please, dear. You'll work yourself into a fit! I've been preparing for this war for years, even before I was brought back to life. I'm a seer, as I said. I can tell the future as well as your little oracle."**

Rachel scowled, "probably not as well."

**"Years ago, still suffering in the Field of Punishment, I had a vision of the seven in your so-called Great Prophecy. I saw your friend Leo here, and saw that he would be an important enemy someday. I stirred the consciousness of my patron, gave her this information, and she managed to wake just a little - just enough to visit him."**

Hephaestus's hands burst into flames, making Dionysus next to him to jump and spill his coke all over his shirt and grape magazine.

"Hephaestus!" he growled and snapped away the coke. "What is wrong with you!"

Hephaestus ignored him. The flames on his hands started to climb up his arms.

**"Leo's mother," Piper said. "Leo, listen to this! She helped get your mother killed!"**

The flames grew into Hephaestus was a ball of fire.

Zeus sighed, "Poseidon, put him out please."

Hephaestus was still boiling angry after the water was dumped over his fire, but he was too wet to re-ignite himself.

**"Uh-huh," Leo mumbled, in a daze. He frowned at his hammer. "So... I just attack Jason? That's okay?"**

**"Perfectly safe," Medea promised. "And Jason, strike him hard. Show me you are worth of your namesake."**

**"No!" Piper ordered. She knew it was her last chance. "Jason, Leo - she's tricking you. Put down your weapons."**

**The sorceress rolled her eyes. "Please, girl. You're no match for me. I trained with my aunt, the immortal Circe."**

Original Annabeth flinched like she knew the name, Other Annabeth guessed that she did.

**"I can drive men mad or heal them with my voice. What hope do these puny young heroes have against me? Now, boys, kill each other!"**

**"Jason, Leo, listen to me." Piper put all her emotion into her voice. For years she'd been trying to control herself and not show weakness, but now she poured everything into her words - her fear, her desperation, her anger. She knew she might be signing her dad's death warrant, but she care too much about her friends to let them hurt each other. "Medea is charming you. It's part of her magic. You are best friends. Don't fight each other. Fight _her_!"**

"Please work," Aphrodite pleaded.

**They hesitated, and Piper could feel the spell shatter.**

"Yes!"

**Jason blinked. "Leo, was I just about to stab you?"**

**"Something about my mother...?" Leo frowned, then turned toward Medea. "You... you're working for Dirt Woman. You sent her to the machine shop." He lifted his arm. "Lady, I got a three-pound hammer with your name on it."**

Athena shook her head, "that's horrible."

Apollo cheered, "I thought it was awesome!"

Hephaestus calmed down and found himself smiling, so did Aphrodite.

**"Bah!" Medea sneered. "I'll simply collect payment another way."**

**She pressed one of the mosaic tiles on the floor, and the building rumbled.**

"Oh, that's not good."

**Jason swung his sword at Medea, but she dissolved into smoke and reappeared at the base of the escalator.**

**"You're slow, hero!" She laughed. "Take your frustration out on my pets!"  
**

"Pets?" Conner asked.

"The storm spirits?" Rachel guessed

"No," Nico, "something worse."

**Before Jason could go after her, the giant bronze sundials at either end of the fountain swung open. Two snarling gold beasts - flesh-and-blood winged dragons - crawled out from the pits below.**

"Okay, that's kinda cool," Clarisse smirked.

"No, it's not!" Will told her, "those creatures are going to kill them!"

**Each was the size of a camper van, maybe not large compared to Festus, but large enough.**

**"So that's what's in the kennels," Leo said meekly.**

"Great," Nico sighed and sat back.

**The dragons spread their wings and hissed. Piper could feel the heat coming off their glittering skin. One turned his angry orange eyes on her.**

**"Don't look them in the eye!" Jason warned. "They'll paralyze you!"**

"Well that's a little late," Hades muttered.

**"Indeed!" Medea was leisurely riding the escalator up, leaning against the handrail as she watched the fun. "These two dears have been with me a long time - sun dragons, you know, gifts from my grandfather Helios. They pulled my chariot when I left Corinth, and now they will be your destruction. Ta-ta!"**

"At least she said a nice good bye," Aphrodite muttered.

**The dragons lunged. Leo and Jason charged to intercept. Piper was amazed how fearlessly the boys attacked - working like a team who had trained together for years.**

"While you just stand there," Percy grumbled, "you're a lot of help in battle."

**Medea was almost to the second floor, where she'd be able to choose from a wide assortment of deadly appliances.**

**"Oh, no, you don't," Piper growled, and took off after her. **

**When Medea spotted Piper, she started climbing in earnest. She was quick for a three-thousand-year-old lady. Piper climbed at top speed, taking the steps three at a time, and still she couldn't catch her. Medea didn't stop at floor two. She hopped the next escalator and continued to ascend.**

"She's going to the potions," Nico pointed out.

**The potions, Piper thought. Of course that's what she would go for. She was famous for potions.**

**Down below, Piper heard the battle raging. Leo was blowing his safety whistle, and Jason was yelling to keep the dragons' attention. Piper didn't dare look - not while she was running with a dagger in her hand.**

"You wouldn't want to trip!" Travis smiled like he finally got a right answer on a test.

**She could just see herself tripping and stabbing herself in the nose. That would be super heroic.**

**She grabbed a shield from a armored manikin on floor three and continued to climb. She imagined Coach Hedge yelling in her mind, just like back in gym lass at Wilderness School: _Move it, McLean! You call that escalator-climbing?_**

**She reached the top floor, breathing hard, but she was too late. Medea had reached the potions counter.**

**The sorceress grabbed a swan-shaped vial - the blue one that cause painful death - and Piper did the only thing that came to mind. She threw her shield.**

Ares snorted, "that's not what I would've done."

"No," Artemis agreed, "you would have charged her and let her poison you."

**Medea turned triumphantly just in time to get hit in the chest by a fifty-pound metal Frisbee. She stumbled backward, crashing over the counter, breaking vials and knocking down shelves. When she sorceress stood from the wreckage, her dress was stained a dozen different colors. Many of the stains were smoldering and glowing.**

"That's way better than what you would've done," Artemis smirked at Ares.

**"Fool!" Medea wailed. "Do you have any idea what do many potions will do when mixed?"**

"No," Luke muttered, his blue eyes were sparkling, "but I don't think she cares."

**"Kill you?" Piper said hopefully.**

**The carpet began to steam around Medea's feet. She coughed, and her face contorted in pain - or was she faking? **

**Below, Leo called, "Jason, help!"  
**

**Piper risked a quick look, and almost sobbed in despair. One of the dragons had Leo pinned to the floor. It was baring its fangs, ready to snap. Jason was all the ways across the room battling the other dragon, much too far away to assist.**

Hephaestus clenched the side of his throne.

**"You've doomed us all!" Medea screamed. Smoke was rolling across the carpet at the stain spread, throwing sparks and setting fires on the clothing racks. "You have only seconds before this concoction consumes everything and destroys the building. There's no time -"**

_**CRASH! **_**The stained glass ceiling splintered in a rain of multicolored shards, and Festus the bronze dragon dropped into the department store.**

"Nice entrance," Apollo grinned.

**He hurtled into the fray, snatching up a sun dragon in each claw. Only now did Piper appreciate just how big and strong their metal friend was.**

**"That's my boy!" Leo yelled.**

**Festus flew halfway up the atrium, then hurled the sun dragons into the pits they'd come from. Leo raced to the fountain and pressed the marble tile, closing the sundials. They shuddered as the dragons banged against them, trying to get out, but for the moment they were contained.**

"At least that problem is taken care of," Poseidon murmured.

**Medea cursed in some ancient language. The whole fourth floor was on fire now. The air filled with noxious gas. Even with the roof open, Piper could fell the heat intensifying. She backed up to the edge of the railing, keeping her dagger pointed toward Medea.**

**"I will not be abandoned again!" The sorceress knelt and snatched up the red healing potion, which had somehow survived the crash. "You want your boyfriend's memory restored? Take me with you!"**

"Like she'll do that," Percy grumbled, "I doubt it."

**Piper glanced behind her. Leo and Jason were on board Festus's back. The bronze dragon flapped his mighty wings, snatched the two cages with the satyr and the storm spirits in his claws, and began to ascend.**

**The building rumbled. Fire and the smoke curled up the walls, melting the railings, turning the air to acid.**

**"You'll never survive your quest without me!" Medea growled.**

"Liar," Other Annabeth's voice was full of venom.

**"You boy hero will stay ignorant forever, and your father will die. Take me with you!"**

**For one heartbeat, Piper was tempted. Then she saw Medea's grim smile. The sorceress was confident with her powers of persuasion, confident that she could always make a deal, always escape and win in the end.**

**"Not today, witch." Piper jumped over the side. She plummeted for only a second before Leo and Jason caught her, hauling her aboard the dragon.**

"That is a pretty badass," Clarisse admitted.

**She heard Medea screaming in rage as they soared through the broken roof and over downtown Chicago. Then the department store exploded behind them.**

"That's it," Artemis said.

She tossed the book into Hephaestus's lap.

"Your turn."

**END OF PIPER 28**


End file.
